Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttle across a net. It is
often played as an outdoor activity; while formal games are played on a rectangular indoor
court. Points are scored by striking the shuttlecock with the racquet and landing it within
the opposing sides half of the court.
In the 1600s Battledore and Shuttlecock was an upper class pastime in England
and many European countries. Battledore and Shuttlecock was simply two people hitting
a shuttlecock backwards and forwards with a simple bat as many times as they could
without allowing it to hit the ground.
During 1800s a contemporary form of Badminton was introduced – a game
called ‘Poona’. It was played in India where a net was introduced and players hit the
shuttlecock across the net. In the mid 1800s British officers took this game back to
England and it was introduced as a game for the guests of Duke of Beaufort, at his stately
home Badminton in Gloucestershire, England where it became popular.
Badminton took its name from Badminton House in Gloucestershire, the
ancestral home of the Duke of Beaufort, the British officers and Government officials
brought back with them the newest development in the game and in 1873, the Duke of
Beaufort held a garden party in his country place, Badminton. Poona was played on that
day and became popular among the British society’s elite. The new party sport became
known as “the Badminton game”.
In 1877, the Bath Badminton Club was formed and developed the first official set
of rules.
In March 1898, the first open tournament was held at Guildford, the first ‘All
England’ Championships were held the following year. The All England Open Badminton
Championship began in 1899 and was the World’s First Badminton Competition.
The International Badminton Federation was formed with the initial members
including England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Denmark, Holland, Canada, New Zealand
and France, with India joining as an affiliate in1936.
Badminton was introduced as Commonwealth Games program sport in Kingston
Jamaica in 1966. By then Badminton became part of every Commonwealth Games
program. The five disciples were included in the game; singles (men and women),
doubles (men and women), and mixed doubles.
Badminton became an Olympic sport in Barcelona in 1992 with the singles and
doubles disciples introduced for the first time in the Olympic Games. In Atlanta in 1996,
a mixed doubles event was included and this is the only mixed doubles event in all of the
Olympic sports.
Susi Susanti from Indonesia won the women’s singles in Barcelona. She was
Indonesia’s first medalist in 40 years of joining and competing at the Games. In the same
Olympic Games, Alan Budi Kusama won gold medal in the men’s badminton singles
making him the second medalist of Indonesia.
