1.

History of badminton

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.
2.

Description of badminton

Badminton is a court game. So like tennis and basketball, among others, badminton is played on a court with
defined measurements. One size court for singles games and another larger court for doubles games, again like
tennis. There is a net that dissects the middle of the court and the players, using a racket, hit a shuttlecock back
and fourth over the net until a point is scored. A point is scored when the shuttlecock touches the ground, when it
is hit out of bounds, if the shuttlecock is not hit over the net or if it touches a player or their clothing. Badminton at
the professional level is played at a very high rate of speed and is probably the fastest racket sport in the world.
While not a popular sport in the United States, like baseball or basketball, badminton has a wide following in Asia
and Europe. In Asia badminton is very popular in Indonesia and Japan and in Europe in Denmark and Sweden.
Badminton became an Olympic sport in 1992.

Doubles and Singles:

Badminton can be played by two or four players. In a singles, two single players (two men or two women) play against each other. A
doubles consists of two opposing pairs of players. There are ladies' doubles (two pairs of ladies playing against each other), men's
doubles (two pairs of two men playing against each other) and mixed doubles (two pairs consisting of one man and one woman
playing against each other). The game therefore has five disciplines: ladies' singles, ladies' doubles, men's singles, men's doubles,
and mixed doubles.

The Court

In normal play, the court is 13.40m long and 5.10m (singles) or 6.10m (doubles) wide. The height of the net is 1.524m over the
centre of the court, but 1.55m over the side lines of the doubles court.

The singles court always covers the full length of the court, from base line to base line, both in normal play and for the service.
Similarly, singles are always played on the narrow court.

Doubles are always played on the wide court. During a rally, the base line at the back of the court marks the end of the court.
However, a doubles service must be played into the short service court, marked by the doubles service line 80 centimetres before
the base line.

The Toss

At the beginning of each match, a toss is made to determine which side serves first. The winner of the toss can chose whether to
make the first service of the match or whether to return first, thus leaving the first service to the opponent. The side that lost the toss
can then chose on which end of the court he/she/they want to start.

Alternatively, the side that wins the toss may also choose to select the end of the curt on which he/she/they want(s) to start. The
right to decide who makes the first service in the match then goes to the side that lost the toss.

The Sets

A badminton match commonly consists of up to three sets. The side that first reaches 21 points wins a set (exception: when there is
no two-point difference - see below). The side that first wins two sets wins the match. A third set is played if, after two sets, both
sides have won one each.

After each set, the sides change ends. A short break of up to 90 seconds can be made between sets and in the middle of each set,
when the first player reaches 11 points. Strictly speaking, the players may not leave the court during the break, but coaching is
allowed.

Scoring

A rally is won by one side if it plays the shuttle in such a way that it cannot be returned by the opponents and hits the ground inside
the opponent's court (including on the lines), if the opponent's return does not cross the net or if the opponent's return hits the
ground outside the court boundaries. Furthermore, a side wins the rally if:

(one of) the opposing player(s) touches the shuttle with the body before it hits the ground (whether inside or outside the

court)

(one of) the opposing player(s) touches the net with the racket or the body while the shuttle is in the air

(one of) the opposing player(s) hits the shuttle before it has crossed the net (i.e. reaching over to the opponent's side of

the court)

both players of one side in a doubles touch the shuttle

one player touches the shuttle more than once

a faulty service is played

The basic scoring rules are:

The winner of each rally scores a point, regardless of who is serving. This means that every mistake, even a faulty

service, wins the opponent a point. (Avoidable) mistakes are thus penalised quite heavily.

The player winning a rally scores a point and simultaneously wins (or keeps) the right to serve.

The winning score in each set is 21 points, but to win a set, a side must lead their opponents by two points or more (see

below).

A player must lead his/her opponents by a minimum of two points in order to win a set. The closest possible winning score

with 21 points is therefore 21-19. If the score reaches 20-20, the set is won by the first player or pair building up a two point
lead or by the first player or pair to score 30 points. This means that possible winning scores are 22-20, 21-23, 22-24,, 29-

27, 30-28 - or 30-29: if score reaches 29-29, the next player to score a point wins the set with a score of 30-29. This is the only
exception when no margin of two points is needed to win a set.

The winning score for a set is the same in all five disciplines.

Even in a doubles, each side only has one service. As in the singles disciplines, the service is played from the left or the

right service court, depending on whether the score of the serving side is odd or even. The service is always played from the
left service court if the serving side's score is odd or from the right service court if it is even. In doubles, players of the serving
side change service courts with every point they score, but if a side scores a point without having served, they do not change
service courts.

Serving
Every service, in singles and doubles, must be played across the front service line, nearly 2 metres away from the net, and always
into the diagonally opposite service court. Each side has one service (in singles and in doubles). If the serving side's score is even,
the service must be played from the right service court, if it is odd, from the left service court. The first service (at 0-0) is always
played from the right service court.
4
A badminton official must do or know the following:

Risk assessment of equipment for the safety of participants

Dress appropriately for the occasion
Must be fully qualified
Must know all the rules
Must be fair and non biased
Must have positive attitude and keep calm
Must stay for whole game
Stay focused and concentrate on game

Duties of the referee

1. Manages the match.
2. Heads the official of the game.
Duties of the empire (before the match)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Secures the score sheet from the head referee.

Sees that all materials needed for scoring are in order.
Inspects the posts, net and court.
Sees to it that the service judge and linesmen are doing their task.
Make sure that plenty of new shuttlecocks are at hands.
Reports to the head referee the infringements of the rules.

Duties of the empire (at the beginning of and during the game)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Make sure that the tossing of the coin is properly done.

Implements the rules without objection among the players.
Decides on objections and protests before the service.
Informs the players as well the spectators, about the progress of the game.
Places or removes officials upon consultation with the head office.
Abides by the decision of the service judge and linesmen.
Receives from the head referee the appeals and protests by either player or team.

Duty of the scorer

1. He records the points scored by each player and certifies the winner or loser of the game.
Duty of linesmen
1. They decide whether the shuttle fell inside or outside the court.

5
Badminton Strokes include:

Smash (hitting the shuttle down fast and steeply),

Drop shot (hitting the shuttle so that is falls into the other players front court),
Net roll (hitting a shot from the net that spins over the net),
Clear (hitting the shuttle from the back of your court, high into the other players back court),
Lift (hitting the shuttle from the net, up high into the opponents back court),
Drive (hitting the shuttle flat across the top of the net),
Block (stopping a smash from hitting the ground on your side and hitting back over the net),
Backhand serve (serving the shuttle with a backhand motion),
Forehand serve (serving the shuttle with a forehand motion

).19

hot. This will help a beginner to come to terms with a coaching manual or any article on badminton.

First, let us define the basic terms of badminton:

- Court: The play area, measuring 44ft by 20 ft, and defined by boundary lines.

- Racquet: or racket. It is the equipment used by the player to hit the shuttlecock. It weighs 90 grams (3oz) and is 680mm (27in)
long. It is generally made of metal alloys (steel/ aluminium) or ceramic, graphite or boron composites and is strung with synthetic
nylon strings or natural gut.

- Shuttlecock: or the shuttle is the object that the players hit back and forth across the net. It consists of 16 goose or duck feathers
embedded in a cork base covered with leather. Synthetic shuttles are frequently used in practice matches but their flight
characteristics and drag quality are inferior to the feather shuttles.

Now let us examine some words, which describe various lines drawn on the badminton court:

- Net: The net is the barrier tied across the center of the court dividing it into two equal halves, each measuring 22ft by 20ft. The net
is 5ft high at its center.

- Baseline: It is the back boundary line, which is parallel to the net and farthest from it.

- Short service line: It is a line 6ft 6in from the net, which the serve must reach to be legal. This line marks the non- volley zone or
fore- court of the playing area.

- Long service line: The line, which the serve should not cross, to be legal is called the long service line. The base line or the back
boundary line serves as the long service line for the singles play. A line two and a half feet inside the baseline serves as the long
service line for doubles.

- Center line: It is a line running perpendicular to the net from the short service line to the baseline dividing the court into equal left
and right service courts.

- Side line: It is the outer boundary line beyond which the shuttle should not fall to be considered legal. The side line for doubles is

one and a half feet outer to the singles side line.

Now we come to words, which describe different areas of the court:

- Fore- court: It is the area of the court between the net and the short service line.

- Mid- court:It is the area between the short service line and the long service line for doubles.

- Back court: It is the rear third of the court containing the two back boundary lines.

- Back alley: It is that area of the court between the two back boundary lines.

- Side alley: It is area of the court between the two side lines.

- Service court: It is the area into which the serve must be delivered in order to be considered legal. It differs for the singles and
doubles game.

We will now examine words, which describe the shots employed in badminton:

- Serve: A serve or service is the first shot of any rally which brings the shuttle into play and aims to deliver the shuttle into the
service court of the opponent's side.

- Clear: It is the basic stroke of badminton. It is played to the opponent's back court and may be used defensively (high clear) or
offensively as when played flatter (attacking clear).

- Drop: A shot played with soft hands and with finesse to land the shuttle swiftly and close to the net on the opponent's side.

- Smash: It is the most attacking shot in badminton. It is an overhead shot which brings the shuttle down from a height at a steep
angle.

- Drive: A fast and flat shot that travels horizontally over the net.

- Hairpin net shot: The shuttle rises from below, clears the net and drops sharply on the opponent's side.

- Net shot: Shot hit from the fore court clearing the net and then falling rapidly.

- Push: A gentle shot played with little wrist action from the fore or mid court and falls in the opponent's mid- court.

- Kill: Overhead shot played fast and downward meant to kill the point.

Miscellaneous terms:

- Feint/ Balk: A deceptive movement meant to confuse the opponent regarding the player's intended direction, choice or speed of
shot.

- Carry/ Throw: An illegal act wherein the shuttle is held on the racket and then thrown during the shot.

- Fault: Any violation of the playing rules in serving, receiving or during rally.

- Let: A legal stoppage of play when the rally may be replayed.

- Wood shot: In this shot the shuttle hits the frame of the racket. Once considered illegal, the International badminton federation in
1963 endorsed this short