badminton
badminton
| what is badminton????????????? | |
|---|---|
Playing badminton whether for fun as a hobby or
on a more competitive level will improve your overall health
significantly when done for at least 30 minutes a day. Many national
and official health institutions recommend that you attempt to raise
your heart rate for a minimum of 30 minutes a day to keep your metabolism at a healthy rate as well as to lower your resting heart BPM (beats per minute).
Other than simply being healthy for the benefit of raising your heart rate and all the positive effects of raising your heart rate, badminton is often a total body work out. When you practice or even play a full match of badminton (three games) you will have been moving for at least 30 minutes and you will be using muscles that you are not always aware of. By moving your body quickly around the court and swinging your racket for the shots you are exercising almost every muscle in your body without even thinking about it. When you exercise to build muscle and tone your body the main goal is to exercise the muscle to the point of exhaustion. This is done by repeatedly stretching and working any muscle you want to tone. By stretching and working the muscle you activate the muscle fibers which release hormones into your body that help your body to increase the tone and mass of your muscles. Badminton can help you to do this and that can be part of what is badminton. Moving from front to back and side to side of the badminton court will not only exercise all the muscles in your legs it will help you to build muscle. The repetition in the actions you are taking as you play the game tends to work much like the repetitions you will find in many weight lifting programs, minus the weights. Instead of using weights to build the muscle you are repeatedly carrying the weight of your body and the momentum that adds to that weight. Often if you were to work out in a fitness gym or club you would be sitting to lift the weights, in badminton you are not only activating the fibers in your muscles that help to strengthen them you are combining that with aerobic activity creating a total work out for your legs. When you combine this leg work out with swinging your racket in all sorts of directions to return all types of badminton shots you are incorporating all of your upper body muscles into this workout as well. The swinging of the racket will be close to weight lifting as well. Even though most badminton rackets are light weight and easy to swing you are adding that little bit of weight along with the momentum of the swing, this activates far more muscle fibers than if you were to sit and simply do repetitive lifting of a heavier weight. And again you are combining this type of weight lifting with aerobic all body activity to produce a raised heart rate and increase your metabolism. As you think about this you may wonder why there are not huge overly muscular badminton players. This is not because they are not reaping the full benefit of the badminton work out it is simply because badminton is going to be a toning sport. The activity that is involved will help you to tone your muscles all while burning excess calories and fat deposits. Beside if you were to create a huge muscular physical state for yourself you would no longer have the quick agile ability to move around the court as a successful badminton player needs. | |
|---|---|
Badminton is a racquet sport
played by either two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs
(doubles), who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court
that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock
with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their
opponents' half of the court. Each side may only strike the shuttlecock
once before it passes over the net. A rally ends once the shuttlecock
has struck the floor.
The shuttlecock (or shuttle) is a feathered projectile whose unique
aerodynamic properties cause it to fly differently than the balls used
in most racquet sports; in particular, the feathers create much higher drag,
causing the shuttlecock to decelerate more rapidly than a ball.
Shuttlecocks have a much higher top speed, when compared to other
racquet sports. Because shuttlecock flight is affected by wind,
competitive badminton is played indoors. Badminton is also played
outdoors as a casual recreational activity, often as a garden or beach
game.
Since 1992, badminton has been an Olympic sport with five events:
men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed
doubles, in which each pair consists of a man and a woman. At high
levels of play, especially in singles, the sport demands excellent
fitness: players require aerobic stamina, agility, explosive strength,
speed and precision. It is also a technical sport, requiring good motor
coordination and the development of sophisticated racquet movements.
History and development
The beginnings of badminton can be traced to mid-18th century British
India, where it was created by British military officers stationed
there.
Early photographs show Englishmen adding a net to the traditional
English game of battledore and shuttlecock. Being particularly popular
in the British garrison town Poona (now Pune), the game also came to be
known as Poona. Initially, balls of wool referred as ball badminton
were preferred by the upper classes in windy or wet conditions, but
ultimately the shuttlecock stuck. This game was taken by retired
officers back to England where it developed and rules were set out.
Although it appears clear that Badminton House, Gloucestershire, owned
by the Duke of Beaufort, has given its name to the sports, it is unclear
when and why the name was adopted. As early as 1860, Isaac Spratt, a
London toy dealer, published a booklet, Badminton Battledore – a new game, but unfortunately no copy has survived. An 1863 article in The Cornhill Magazine
describes badminton as "battledore and shuttlecock played with sides,
across a string suspended some five feet from the ground".
This early use has cast doubt on the origin through expatriates in
India, though it is known that it was popular there in the 1870s and
that the first rules were drawn up in Poonah in 1873.
As early as 1875, veterans returning from India started a club in Folkestone.
Until 1887, the sport was played in England under the rules that
prevailed in British India. The Bath Badminton Club standardized the
rules and made the game applicable to English ideas. J.H.E. Hart drew up
revised basic regulations in 1887 and, with Bagnel Wild, again in 1890
In 1893, the Badminton Association of England published the first set
of rules according to these regulations, similar to today's rules, and
officially launched badminton in a house called "Dunbar" at 6 Waverley
Grove, Portsmouth, England on September 13 of that year. They also started the All England Open Badminton Championships, the first badminton competition in the world, in 1899.
The International Badminton Federation (IBF) (now known as Badminton
World Federation) was established in 1934 with Canada, Denmark, England,
France, the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales as
its founding members. India joined as an affiliate in 1936. The BWF now
governs international badminton and develops the sport globally.
While initiated in England, competitive men's badminton in Europe has
traditionally been dominated by Denmark. Asian nations, however, have
been the most dominant ones worldwide. Indonesia, South Korea, China,
and Malaysia along with Denmark are among the nations that have
consistently produced world-class players in the past few decades, with
China being the greatest force in both men's and women's competition in
recent years.
Rules
The following information is a simplified summary of badminton rules based on the BWF Statutes publication, Laws of Badminton.
Playing court dimensions
The court is rectangular and divided into halves by a net. Courts are
usually marked for both singles and doubles play, although badminton
rules permit a court to be marked for singles only.
The doubles court is wider than the singles court, but both are of same
length. The exception, which often causes confusion to newer players,
is that the doubles court has a shorter serve-length dimension.
The full width of the court is 6.1 metres (20 ft), and in singles
this width is reduced to 5.18 metres (17 ft). The full length of the
court is 13.4 metres (44 ft). The service courts are marked by a centre
line dividing the width of the court, by a short service line at a
distance of 1.98 metres (6 ft 6 inch) from the net, and by the outer
side and back boundaries. In doubles, the service court is also marked
by a long service line, which is 0.76 metres (2 ft 6 inch) from the back
boundary.
The net is 1.55 metres (5 ft 1 inch) high at the edges and
1.524 metres (5 ft) high in the centre. The net posts are placed over
the doubles sidelines, even when singles is played.
The minimum height for the ceiling above the court is not mentioned
in the Laws of Badminton. Nonetheless, a badminton court will not be
suitable if the ceiling is likely to be hit on a high serve.
Equipment rules
Badminton rules restrict the design and size of racquets and
shuttlecocks. Badminton rules also provide for testing a shuttlecock for
the correct speed:
- 3.1
- To test a shuttlecock, use a full underhand stroke which makes contact with the shuttlecock over the back boundary line. The shuttlecock shall be hit at an upward angle and in a direction parallel to the side lines.
- 3.2
- A shuttlecock of the correct speed will land not less than 530 mm and not more than 990 mm short of the other back boundary line.
Scoring system and service
Main article: Scoring system development of badminton
Serving
Each game is played to 21 points, with players scoring a point whenever they win a rally regardless of whether they served
(this differs from the old system where players could only win a point
on their serve and each game was played to 15 points). A match is the
best of three games.
At the start of the rally, the server and receiver stand in diagonally opposite service courts
(see court dimensions). The server hits the shuttlecock so that it
would land in the receiver's service court. This is similar to tennis,
except that a badminton serve must be hit below waist height and with
the racquet shaft pointing downwards, the shuttlecock is not allowed to
bounce and in badminton, the players stand inside their service courts
unlike tennis.
When the serving side loses a rally, the serve immediately passes to
their opponent(s) (this differs from the old system where sometimes the
serve passes to the doubles partner for what is known as a "second
serve").
In singles, the server stands in their right service court when their
score is even, and in her/his left service court when her/his score is
odd.
In doubles, if the serving side wins a rally, the same player
continues to serve, but he/she changes service courts so that she/he
serves to a different opponent each time. If the opponents win the rally
and their new score is even, the player in the right service court
serves; if odd, the player in the left service court serves. The
players' service courts are determined by their positions at the start
of the previous rally, not by where they were standing at the end of the
rally. A consequence of this system is that, each time a side regains
the service, the server will be the player who did not serve last time.
Scoring
When the server serves, the shuttlecock must pass over the short
service line on the opponents' court or it will count as a fault.
If the score reaches 20-all, then the game continues until one side
gains a two point lead (such as 24–22), up to a maximum of 30 points
(30–29 is a winning score).
At the start of a match, the shuttlecock is cast and the side towards
which the shuttlecock is pointing serves first. Alternatively, a coin
may be tossed, with the winners choosing whether to serve or receive
first, or choosing which end of the court to occupy, and their opponents
making the leftover the remaining choice.
In subsequent games, the winners of the previous game serve first.
Matches are best out of three: a player or pair must win two games (of
21 points each) to win the match. For the first rally of any doubles
game, the serving pair may decide who serves and the receiving pair may
decide who receives. The players change ends at the start of the second
game; if the match reaches a third game, they change ends both at the
start of the game and when the leading player's or pair's score reaches
11 points.
The server and receiver must remain within their service courts,
without touching the boundary lines, until the server strikes the
shuttlecock. The other two players may stand wherever they wish, so long
as they do not block the vision of the server or receiver.
Lets
If a let is called, the rally is stopped and replayed with no change
to the score. Lets may occur because of some unexpected disturbance such
as a shuttlecock landing on court (having been hit there by players on
an adjacent court) or in small halls the shuttle may touch an overhead
rail which can be classed as a let.
If the receiver is not ready when the service is delivered, a let
shall be called; yet, if the receiver attempts to return the
shuttlecock, he shall be judged to have been ready.
Equipment
Racquets
Badminton racquets are lightweight, with top quality racquets weighing
between 70 and 95 grams (2.4 to 3.3 ounces) not including grip or
strings.
They are composed of many different materials ranging from carbon fibre
composite (graphite reinforced plastic) to solid steel, which may be
augmented by a variety of materials. Carbon fibre has an excellent
strength to weight ratio, is stiff, and gives excellent kinetic energy
transfer. Before the adoption of carbon fibre composite, racquets were
made of light metals such as aluminium. Earlier still, racquets were
made of wood. Cheap racquets are still often made of metals such as
steel, but wooden racquets are no longer manufactured for the ordinary
market, because of their excessive mass and cost. Nowadays,
nanomaterials such as fullerene and carbon nanotubes are added to
rackets giving them greater durability[citation needed].
There is a wide variety of racquet designs, although the laws limit
the racquet size and shape. Different racquets have playing
characteristics that appeal to different players. The traditional oval
head shape is still available, but an isometric head shape is increasingly common in new racquets.
Strings
Badminton strings are thin, high performing strings in the range of
about 0.62 to 0.73 mm thickness. Thicker strings are more durable, but
many players prefer the feel of thinner strings. String tension is
normally in the range of 80 to 160 N (18 to 36 lbf).
Recreational players generally string at lower tensions than
professionals, typically between 80 and 110 N (18 and 25 lbf).
Professionals string between about 110 and 160 N (25 and 36 lbf). Some
string manufacturers measure the thickness of their strings under
tension so they are actually thicker then than specified when slack.
Ashaway Micropower is actually 0.7mm but Yonex BG-66 is about 0.72mm.
It is often argued that high string tensions improve control, whereas low string tensions increase power.
The arguments for this generally rely on crude mechanical reasoning,
such as claiming that a lower tension string bed is more bouncy and
therefore provides more power. This is in fact incorrect, for a higher
string tension can cause the shuttle to slide off the racquet and hence
make it harder to hit a shot accurately. An alternative view suggests
that the optimum tension for power depends on the player:
the faster and more accurately a player can swing their racquet, the
higher the tension for maximum power. Neither view has been subjected to
a rigorous mechanical analysis, nor is there clear evidence in favour
of one or the other. The most effective way for a player to find a good
string tension is to experiment.
Grip
The choice of grip allows a player to increase the thickness of his
racquet handle and choose a comfortable surface to hold. A player may
build up the handle with one or several grips before applying the final
layer.
Players may choose between a variety of grip materials. The most common choices are PU
synthetic grips or towelling grips. Grip choice is a matter of personal
preference. Players often find that sweat becomes a problem; in this
case, a drying agent may be applied to the grip or hands, sweatbands may
be used, the player may choose another grip material or change his grip
more frequently.
There are two main types of grip: replacement grips and overgrips.
Replacement grips are thicker, and are often used to increase the size
of the handle. Overgrips are thinner (less than 1 mm), and are often
used as the final layer. Many players, however, prefer to use
replacement grips as the final layer. Towelling grips are always
replacement grips. Replacement grips have an adhesive backing, whereas
overgrips have only a small patch of adhesive at the start of the tape
and must be applied under tension; overgrips are more convenient for
players who change grips frequently, because they may be removed more
rapidly without damaging the underlying material.
Shuttlecock
Main article: Shuttlecock
A shuttlecock (often abbreviated to shuttle; also called a birdie)
is a high-drag projectile, with an open conical shape: the cone is
formed from sixteen overlapping feathers embedded into a rounded cork
base. The cork is covered with thin leather or synthetic material.
Synthetic
shuttles are often used by recreational players to reduce their costs
as feathered shuttles break easily. These nylon shuttles may be
constructed with either natural cork or synthetic foam base, and a
plastic skirt.
Shoes
Badminton shoes are lightweight with soles of rubber or similar high-grip, non-marking materials.
Compared to running shoes, badminton shoes have little lateral support.
High levels of lateral support are useful for activities where lateral
motion is undesirable and unexpected. Badminton, however, requires
powerful lateral movements. A highly built-up lateral support will not
be able to protect the foot in badminton; instead, it will encourage
catastrophic collapse at the point where the shoe's support fails, and
the player's ankles are not ready for the sudden loading, which can
cause sprains. For this reason, players should choose badminton shoes
rather than general trainers or running shoes, because proper badminton
shoes will have a very thin sole, lower a person's centre of gravity,
and therefore result in fewer injuries. Players should also ensure that
they learn safe and proper footwork, with the knee and foot in alignment
on all lunges. This is more than just a safety concern: proper footwork
is also critical in order to move effectively around the court.
Strokes
| This section does not cite any references or sources. (September 2009) |
Forehand and backhand
Badminton offers a wide variety of basic strokes, and players require
a high level of skill to perform all of them effectively. All strokes
can be played either forehand or backhand. A player's
forehand side is the same side as their playing hand: for a right-handed
player, the forehand side is their right side and the backhand side is
their left side. Forehand strokes are hit with the front of the hand
leading (like hitting with the palm), whereas backhand strokes are hit
with the back of the hand leading (like hitting with the knuckles).
Players frequently play certain strokes on the forehand side with a
backhand hitting action, and vice versa.
In the forecourt and midcourt, most strokes can be played equally
effectively on either the forehand or backhand side; but in the
rearcourt, players will attempt to play as many strokes as possible on
their forehands, often preferring to play a round-the-head
forehand overhead (a forehand "on the backhand side") rather than
attempt a backhand overhead. Playing a backhand overhead has two main
disadvantages. First, the player must turn their back to their
opponents, restricting their view of them and the court. Second,
backhand overheads cannot be hit with as much power as forehands: the
hitting action is limited by the shoulder joint, which permits a much
greater range of movement for a forehand overhead than for a backhand.
The backhand clear is considered by most players and coaches to
be the most difficult basic stroke in the game, since precise technique
is needed in order to muster enough power for the shuttlecock to travel
the full length of the court. For the same reason, backhand smashes tend to be weak.
Position of the shuttlecock and receiving player
The choice of stroke depends on how near the shuttlecock is to the
net, whether it is above net height, and where an opponent is currently
positioned: players have much better attacking options if they can reach
the shuttlecock well above net height, especially if it is also close
to the net. In the forecourt, a high shuttlecock will be met with a net kill,
hitting it steeply downwards and attempting to win the rally
immediately. This is why it is best to drop the shuttlecock just over
the net in this situation. In the midcourt, a high shuttlecock will usually be met with a powerful smash, also hitting downwards and hoping for an outright winner or a weak reply. Athletic jump smashes, where players jump upwards for a steeper smash angle, are a common and spectacular element of elite men's doubles play. In the rearcourt, players strive to hit the shuttlecock while it is still above them, rather than allowing it to drop lower. This overhead hitting allows them to play smashes, clears
(hitting the shuttlecock high and to the back of the opponents' court),
and dropshots (hitting the shuttlecock so that it falls softly
downwards into the opponents' forecourt). If the shuttlecock has dropped
lower, then a smash is impossible and a full-length, high clear is
difficult.
Vertical position of the shuttlecock
When the shuttlecock is well below net height, players have no choice but to hit upwards. Lifts,
where the shuttlecock is hit upwards to the back of the opponents'
court, can be played from all parts of the court. If a player does not
lift, his only remaining option is to push the shuttlecock softly back
to the net: in the forecourt this is called a netshot; in the midcourt or rearcourt, it is often called a push or block.
When the shuttlecock is near to net height, players can hit drives,
which travel flat and rapidly over the net into the opponents' rear
midcourt and rearcourt. Pushes may also be hit flatter, placing the
shuttlecock into the front midcourt. Drives and pushes may be played
from the midcourt or forecourt, and are most often used in doubles: they
are an attempt to regain the attack, rather than choosing to lift the
shuttlecock and defend against smashes. After a successful drive or
push, the opponents will often be forced to lift the shuttlecock.
Other factors
When defending against a smash, players have three basic
options: lift, block, or drive. In singles, a block to the net is the
most common reply. In doubles, a lift is the safest option but it
usually allows the opponents to continue smashing; blocks and drives are
counter-attacking strokes, but may be intercepted by the smasher's
partner. Many players use a backhand hitting action for returning
smashes on both the forehand and backhand sides, because backhands are
more effective than forehands at covering smashes directed to the body.
It is very good tool to play hard shots which are directed towards the
body.
The service is restricted by the Laws
and presents its own array of stroke choices. Unlike in tennis, the
servers racket must be pointing in a downward direction to deliver the
serve so normally the shuttle must be hit upwards to pass over the net.
The server can choose a low serve into the forecourt (like a push), or a lift to the back of the service court, or a flat drive serve. Lifted serves may be either high serves, where the shuttlecock is lifted so high that it falls almost vertically at the back of the court, or flick serves, where the shuttlecock is lifted to a lesser height but falls sooner.
Deception
Once players have mastered these basic strokes, they can hit the
shuttlecock from and to any part of the court, powerfully and softly as
required. Beyond the basics, however, badminton offers rich potential
for advanced stroke skills that provide a competitive advantage. Because
badminton players have to cover a short distance as quickly as
possible, the purpose of many advanced strokes is to deceive the
opponent, so that either he is tricked into believing that a different
stroke is being played, or he is forced to delay his movement until he
actually sees the shuttle's direction. "Deception" in badminton is often
used in both of these senses. When a player is genuinely deceived, he
will often lose the point immediately because he cannot change his
direction quickly enough to reach the shuttlecock. Experienced players
will be aware of the trick and cautious not to move too early, but the
attempted deception is still useful because it forces the opponent to
delay his movement slightly. Against weaker players whose intended
strokes are obvious, an experienced player may move before the
shuttlecock has been hit, anticipating the stroke to gain an advantage.
Slicing and using a shortened hitting action are the
two main technical devices that facilitate deception. Slicing involves
hitting the shuttlecock with an angled racquet face, causing it to
travel in a different direction than suggested by the body or arm
movement. Slicing also causes the shuttlecock to travel much slower than
the arm movement suggests. For example, a good crosscourt sliced dropshot
will use a hitting action that suggests a straight clear or smash,
deceiving the opponent about both the power and direction of the
shuttlecock. A more sophisticated slicing action involves brushing the
strings around the shuttlecock during the hit, in order to make the
shuttlecock spin. This can be used to improve the shuttle's trajectory,
by making it dip more rapidly as it passes the net; for example, a
sliced low serve can travel slightly faster than a normal low serve, yet
land on the same spot. Spinning the shuttlecock is also used to create spinning netshots (also called tumbling netshots),
in which the shuttlecock turns over itself several times (tumbles)
before stabilizing; sometimes the shuttlecock remains inverted instead
of tumbling. The main advantage of a spinning netshot is that the
opponent will be unwilling to address the shuttlecock until it has
stopped tumbling, since hitting the feathers will result in an
unpredictable stroke. Spinning netshots are especially important for
high level singles players.
The lightness of modern racquets allows players to use a very short
hitting action for many strokes, thereby maintaining the option to hit a
powerful or a soft stroke until the last possible moment. For example, a
singles player may hold his racquet ready for a netshot, but then flick
the shuttlecock to the back instead with a shallow lift when she or he
notices the opponent has moved before the actual shot was played. A
shallow lift takes less time to reach the ground and as mentioned above a
rally is over when the shuttlecock touches the ground. This makes the
opponent's task of covering the whole court much more difficult than if
the lift was hit higher and with a bigger, obvious swing. A short
hitting action is not only useful for deception: it also allows the
player to hit powerful strokes when he has no time for a big arm swing. A
big arm swing is also usually not advised in badminton because bigger
swings make it more difficult to recover for the next shot in fast
exchanges. The use of grip tightening is crucial to these techniques,
and is often described as finger power. Elite players develop
finger power to the extent that they can hit some power strokes, such as
net kills, with less than a 10 cm (4 in) racquet swing.
It is also possible to reverse this style of deception, by suggesting
a powerful stroke before slowing down the hitting action to play a soft
stroke. In general, this latter style of deception is more common in
the rearcourt (for example, dropshots disguised as smashes), whereas the
former style is more common in the forecourt and midcourt (for example,
lifts disguised as netshots).
Deception is not limited to slicing and short hitting actions. Players may also use double motion,
where they make an initial racquet movement in one direction before
withdrawing the racquet to hit in another direction. Players will often
do this to send opponents in the wrong direction. The racquet movement
is typically used to suggest a straight angle but then play the stroke
cross court, or vice versa. Triple motion is also possible, but this is very rare in actual play. An alternative to double motion is to use a racquet head fake,
where the initial motion is continued but the racquet is turned during
the hit. This produces a smaller change in direction, but does not
require as much time.
Strategy
| This section does not cite any references or sources. (September 2009) |
To win in badminton, players need to employ a wide variety of strokes
in the right situations. These range from powerful jumping smashes to
delicate tumbling net returns. Often rallies finish with a smash, but
setting up the smash requires subtler strokes. For example, a netshot
can force the opponent to lift the shuttlecock, which gives an
opportunity to smash. If the netshot is tight and tumbling, then the
opponent's lift will not reach the back of the court, which makes the
subsequent smash much harder to return.
Deception is also important. Expert players prepare for many
different strokes that look identical, and use slicing to deceive their
opponents about the speed or direction of the stroke. If an opponent
tries to anticipate the stroke, he may move in the wrong direction and
may be unable to change his body momentum in time to reach the
shuttlecock.
Doubles
Both pairs will try to gain and maintain the attack, smashing
downwards when possible. Whenever possible, a pair will adopt an ideal
attacking formation with one player hitting down from the rearcourt, and
his partner in the midcourt intercepting all smash returns except the
lift. If the rearcourt attacker plays a dropshot, his partner will move
into the forecourt to threaten the net reply. If a pair cannot hit
downwards, they will use flat strokes in an attempt to gain the attack.
If a pair is forced to lift or clear the shuttlecock, then they must
defend: they will adopt a side-by-side position in the rear midcourt, to
cover the full width of their court against the opponents' smashes. In
doubles, players generally smash to the middle ground between two
players in order to take advantage of confusion and clashes.
At high levels of play, the backhand serve has become popular to the
extent that forehand serves have become fairly rare at a high level of
play. The straight low serve is used most frequently, in an attempt to
prevent the opponents gaining the attack immediately. Flick serves are
used to prevent the opponent from anticipating the low serve and
attacking it decisively.
At high levels of play, doubles rallies are extremely fast. Men's
doubles is the most aggressive form of badminton, with a high proportion
of powerful jump smashes.
Singles
The singles court is narrower than the doubles court, but the same
length. Since one person needs to cover the entire court, singles
tactics are based on forcing the opponent to move as much as possible;
this means that singles strokes are normally directed to the corners of
the court. Players exploit the length of the court by combining lifts
and clears with drop shots and net shots. Smashing tends to be less
prominent in singles than in doubles because the smasher has no partner
to follow up his effort and is thus vulnerable to a skillfully placed
return. Moreover, frequent smashing can be exhausting in singles where
the conservation of a player's energy is a at a premium. However,
players with strong smashes will sometimes use the shot to create
openings, and players commonly smash weak returns to try to end rallies.
In singles, players will often start the rally with a forehand high
serve or with a flick serve. Low serves are also used frequently, either
forehand or backhand. Drive serves are rare.
At high levels of play, singles demands extraordinary fitness.
Singles is a game of patient positional manoeuvring, unlike the all-out
aggression of doubles.
Mixed doubles
In mixed doubles, both pairs typically try to maintain an attacking
formation with the woman at the front and the man at the back. This is
because the male players are usually substantially stronger, and can
therefore produce smashes that are more powerful. As a result, mixed
doubles require greater tactical awareness and subtler positional play.
Clever opponents will try to reverse the ideal position, by forcing the
woman towards the back or the man towards the front. In order to protect
against this danger, mixed players must be careful and systematic in
their shot selection.
At high levels of play, the formations will generally be more
flexible: the top women players are capable of playing powerfully from
the back-court, and will happily do so if required. When the opportunity
arises, however, the pair will switch back to the standard mixed
attacking position, with the woman in front.
Governing bodies
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the internationally
recognized governing body of the sport. Five regional confederations are
associated with the BWF:
- Asia: Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC)
- Africa: Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA)
- Americas: Badminton Pan Am (North America and South America belong to the same confederation; BPA)
- Europe: Badminton Europe (BE)
- Oceania: Badminton Oceania (BO)
Competitions
The BWF organizes several international competitions, including the
Thomas Cup, the premier men's international team event first held in
1948–1949, and the Uber Cup, the women's equivalent first held in
1956–1957.
The competitions take place once every two years. More than 50 national
teams compete in qualifying tournaments within continental
confederations for a place in the finals. The final tournament involves
12 teams, following an increase from eight teams in 2004.
The Sudirman Cup,
a gender-mixed international team event held once every two years,
began in 1989. Teams are divided into seven levels based on the
performance of each country. To win the tournament, a country must
perform well across all five disciplines (men's doubles and singles,
women's doubles and singles, and mixed doubles). Like association
football (soccer), it features a promotion and relegation system in
every level.
Badminton was a demonstration event in the 1972 and 1988 Summer
Olympics. It became an official Summer Olympic sport at the Barcelona
Olympics in 1992 and its gold medals now generally rate as the sport's
most coveted prizes for individual players.
In the BWF World Championships, first held in 1977,
currently only the highest ranked 64 players in the world, and a
maximum of four from each country, can participate in any category. In
both the Olympic and BWF World competitions restrictions on the number
of participants from any one country have caused some controversy
because they sometimes result in excluding elite world level players
from the strongest badminton nations. The Thomas, Uber, and Sudirman
Cups, the Olympics, and the BWF World (and World Junior Championships), are all categorized as level one tournaments.
At the start of 2007, the BWF introduced a new tournament structure
for the highest level tournaments aside from those in level one: the BWF
Super Series.
This level two tournament series, a tour for the world's elite players,
stages twelve open tournaments around the world with 32 players (half
the previous limit). The players collect points that determine whether
they can play in Super Series Final held at the year end. Among the
tournaments in this series is the venerable All-England Championships,
first held in 1900, which was once considered the unofficial world
championships of the sport.
Level three tournaments consist of Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix event.
Top players can collect the world ranking points and enable them to
play in the BWF Super Series open tournaments. These include the
regional competitions in Asia (Badminton Asia Championships) and Europe
(European Badminton Championships), which produce the world's best
players as well as the Pan America Badminton Championships.
The level four tournaments, known as International Challenge,
International Series and Future Series, encourage participation by
junior players.
Comparisons with other racquet sports
| This section may contain original research. (May 2010) |
Badminton is frequently compared to tennis. The following is a list of uncontentious comparisons:
- In tennis, the ball may bounce once before the player hits it; in badminton, the rally ends once the shuttlecock touches the floor.
- In tennis, the serve is dominant to the extent that the server is expected to win most of his service games (at advanced level & onwards); a break of service, where the server loses the game, is of major importance in a match. In badminton a server has far less advantage, and is unlikely to score an 'ace' (unreturnable serve).
- In tennis, the server is allowed two attempts to make a correct serve; in badminton, the server is allowed only one attempt.
- The tennis court is larger than the badminton court.
- Tennis racquets are about four times as heavy as badminton racquets, 10–12 ounces (approximately 284–340 grams) versus 2–3 ounces (70–105 grams). Tennis balls are more than eleven times heavier than shuttlecocks, 57 grams versus 5 grams.
- The fastest recorded tennis stroke is Ivo Karlovic's 156 mph (251 km/h) serve, whereas the fastest badminton stroke during gameplay was Fu Haifeng's 206 mph (332 km/h) recorded smash.
Comparisons of speed and athletic requirements
Statistics such as the smash speed, above, prompt badminton
enthusiasts to make other comparisons that are more contentious. For
example, it is often claimed that badminton is the fastest racquet
sport.[citation needed]
Although badminton holds the record for the fastest initial speed of a
racket sports projectile, the shuttlecock decelerates substantially
faster than other projectiles such as tennis balls. In turn, this
qualification must be qualified by consideration of the distance over
which the shuttlecock travels: a smashed shuttlecock travels a shorter
distance than a tennis ball during a serve. Badminton's claim as the
fastest racquet sport might also be based on reaction time requirements,
but arguably table tennis requires even faster reaction times.
While fans of badminton and tennis often claim that their sport is
the more physically demanding, such comparisons are difficult to make
objectively because of the differing demands of the games. No formal
study currently exists evaluating the physical condition of the players
or demands during game play.
Comparisons of technique
Badminton and tennis techniques differ substantially. The lightness
of the shuttlecock and of badminton rackets allow badminton players to
make use of the wrist and fingers much more than tennis players; in
tennis the wrist is normally held stable, and playing with a mobile
wrist may lead to injury. For the same reasons, badminton players can
generate power from a short racket swing: for some strokes such as net
kills, an elite player's swing may be less than 5 cm (2 in). For strokes
that require more power, a longer swing will typically be used, but the
badminton racket swing will rarely be as long as a typical tennis
swing.
It is often asserted that power in badminton strokes comes mainly
from the wrist. This is a misconception and may be criticised for two
reasons. First, it is strictly speaking a category error:
the wrist is a joint, not a muscle; the forearm muscles control its
movement. Second, wrist movements are weak when compared to forearm or
upper arm movements. Badminton biomechanics
have not been the subject of extensive scientific study, but some
studies confirm the minor role of the wrist in power generation, and
indicate that the major contributions to power come from internal and
external rotations of the upper and lower arm. Modern coaching resources such as the Badminton England Technique DVD reflect these ideas by emphasising forearm rotation rather than wrist movements.
Distinctive characteristics of the shuttlecock
The shuttlecock differs greatly from the balls used in most other racquet sports.
Aerodynamic drag and stability
The feathers impart substantial drag, causing the shuttlecock to
decelerate greatly over distance. The shuttlecock is also extremely
aerodynamically stable: regardless of initial orientation, it will turn
to fly cork-first, and remain in the cork-first orientation.
One consequence of the shuttlecock's drag is that it requires
considerable skill to hit it the full length of the court, which is not
the case for most racquet sports. The drag also influences the flight
path of a lifted (lobbed) shuttlecock: the parabola
of its flight is heavily skewed so that it falls at a steeper angle
than it rises. With very high serves, the shuttlecock may even fall
vertically.
Spin
Balls may be spun to alter their bounce (for example, topspin and
backspin in tennis), and players may slice the ball (strike it with an
angled racket face) to produce such spin; but, since the shuttlecock is
not allowed to bounce, this does not apply to badminton.
Slicing the shuttlecock so that it spins, however, does have
applications, and some are particular to badminton. (See Basic strokes
for an explanation of technical terms.)
- Slicing the shuttlecock from the side may cause it to travel in a different direction from the direction suggested by the player's racket or body movement. This is used to deceive opponents.
- Slicing the shuttlecock from the side may cause it to follow a slightly curved path (as seen from above), and the deceleration imparted by the spin causes sliced strokes to slow down more suddenly towards the end of their flight path. This can be used to create dropshots and smashes that dip more steeply after they pass the net.
- When playing a netshot, slicing underneath the shuttlecock may cause it to turn over itself (tumble) several times as it passes the net. This is called a spinning netshot or tumbling netshot. The opponent will be unwilling to address the shuttlecock until it has corrected its orientation.
Due to the way that its feathers overlap, a shuttlecock also has a
slight natural spin about its axis of rotational symmetry. The spin is
in a counter-clockwise direction as seen from above when dropping a
shuttlecock. This natural spin affects certain strokes: a tumbling
netshot is more effective if the slicing action is from right to left,
rather than from left to right.