Introduction

Badminton is a racquet sport played by any age group for recreational or competitive purposes. It is played on a rectangular court which is divided by a net. Badminton is can be played in either double or singles. Players use racquets to hit a shuttlecock over the net. A rally ends once the shuttlecock has hit the ground. 

This Blog is designed for a middle-school student who is starting to play the game Badminton. 

History

Games with a shuttlecock are widely believed to have originated in ancient Greece about 2000 years ago. From there they spread further east to China and Thailand. Since medieval times a children's game called Battledore and Shuttlecock was popular throughout England. 

Original Equipment and Rules

In the 5th century BC, people in china played a game called ti jian zi (translated to 'kicking the shuttle'). The objective of this game was to keep the shuttle from hitting the ground without using your hands. Whether this game has anything to do with the origins of badminton is up for debate. It was however the first game that uses a shuttlecock. 

The original game of Battledore and Shuttlecock originating for England, involved two people hitting a shuttlecock backwards and forwards. Children would use paddles (also known as Battledores) and work together to keep the shuttlecock up in the air and off the ground.

Playing area

The badminton court dimensions are of 13.4m in length and 6.1m in width. The badminton court is a rectangle laid out with lines of 40mm wide. The net covers the span of the court and is about 6m wide and 1.5m off the ground.

 

Equipment

• Court
• Net
• Posts
• Racket
• Shuttlecock

Basic Rules

The aim of badminton is to hit the shuttlecock with your racket so that it passes over the net and lands inside your opponent’s half of the court. Once the shuttlecock touches the ground, the rally is over!

• A match consists of the best of 3 games of 21 points.
• Every time there is a serve – there is a point scored.
• The side winning a rally adds a point to its score.
• At 20 all, the side which gains a 2 point lead first, wins that game.
• At 29 all, the side scoring the 30th point, wins that game.

Australian Contact Information and Championships

Badminton Australia

Unit 15, No. 8 Techno Park Drive

Williamstown, 3016, VIC
Phone: +61 3 9397 4722

Championships

2014 Australian National Championships 

Host Association: Badminton Geelong Inc.

Venue: Corio Leisuretime Centre Ankie Rd, Norlane, 3214

Phone: 03 5275 0688 

Carnival Dates: 30 August - 6 September, 2014 Championships

Types of Serves

Low serve

The low serve is played gently over the net to land at the front of your opponent’s service court, near the short service line.

High serve

The high serve is played powerfully upwards, so that the shuttlecock travels very high and falls almost vertically downwards at the back of the receiver’s service court. 

Flick serve

The flick serve is also played upwards, but much more shallowly than the high serve. The idea is to deprive the opponent of time, forcing him to hit the shuttlecock when it’s behind his body.

Drive serve

The drive serve is played flat and fast towards the back of the receiver’s service court, passing low over the net. The idea is to provoke an immediate reaction, hoping that the receiver will miss hit the shuttlecock.

Scoring

Deciding who gets to serve first

In a major tournament, a coin toss is used to decide which side will serve first.

Points, games, and matches

Every time you win a rally, you get a point. Starting from 0, the first person to reach 21 points wins the game.

In standard league or tournament play, however, what really matters is the match. A match is the best of three games. You win the match by winning two games. 

To win, you need a 2 point lead

You have to win the game by at least 2 points. If the score reaches 20–20, then 21 points are no longer enough to win the game. You need to win 2 points in a row. If you reach 30–29, however, you’ve won the game. 30 points is the upper limit. 

Skills and Strokes

When the shuttle flies towards a particular area around your body, you'll need to use different strokes to hit the shuttle.

The different strokes are...

Defensive badminton shots

The Clear Shot

In this stroke, contact the shuttlecock around the middle of your racket head. The aim of the clear is to cause the shuttle to go up high in the air and land at your opponent's back court.

This is used when you need to buy more time for yourself to return to base before the next return. It is also strategic to use when your opponent is near to the fore-court, forcing him to retract to the back to retrieve the shuttle.

The Drive Shot

The drive shot is a basic flat shot, directly hit over the net. It is a powerful, quick counter-attacking shot that is easy to execute. Your racket should be held with the head facing straight ahead.

It can sometimes be strategic to aim the shot at your opponent who will be unable to react or shift his body in time as their natural reaction will be to duck the shot.

Offensive badminton shots

The Drop Shot

The drop shot is best used when the shuttle is heading towards you in the first half of your court. To perform this stroke, the player must hit the shuttle cock downwards towards the opponent's fore-court, aiming for it to go just over the net.

You want to make it look like a drive, but instead you only use a little force to push the shuttle over the net. This shot is strategic to use when the opponent is near to the back court, anticipating your stroke to be a clear or drive.

For more advanced play, if you are in the mid-court you can try slicing the shuttlecock so it will bounce nicely over the net. If the opponent is in the back court, this shot will make the opponent dash forward.

The closer the shuttle drops to the net, the harder it is to return. However, it also becomes riskier for you as it may not cross the net and cost you the rally.

The Smash Shot

The badminton smash is considered the most powerful shot in badminton and you can think of it like a drive that is angled downwards. It is best used when the shuttle when its high in the air, so it can be angled downwards.

When the shuttle comes in from a high angle, it will allow you enough time to arch and get in position to strike. At the highest point of contact, with a flick of the wrist aim the shuttle downwards in a steep gradient.


You ideally want to aim for spots furthest from your opponent, but another tactic is to aim it towards his upper torso, making it hard for him to defend.

History of World Tournament

The BWF World Championships (formerly known as IBF World Championships) is a badminton tournament sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). The tournament offers the most ranking points, together with Olympic Games. The winners will be crowned as the 'World Champions' and awarded gold medals. However, there is no prize money.

The tournament started in 1977 and was held once every three years until 1983. It started in 1985 and was a bi-annual event played once every two years until 2005. Starting in 2006, the tournament was changed to an annual event on the with the goal to give more chances for the players to be crowned as official 'World Champions'. However, the tournament is not held every four years to give way to the Olympic Games.

World Champians

Mens Singles - Lee Chong Wei

Womens Singles - Li Xuerui 

Mens Doubles - Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan

Womens Doubles - Yixio Bao and Jighua Tang

Mixed Doubles - Nan Zhang and Yunlei Zhao

Australian involvement in World Competition

2014 NATIONAL SQUAD

Elite Group - Men	Elite Group - Women
Glenn Warfe (Vic) - Doubles	Renuga Veeran (Vic) - Doubles
Ross Smith (Vic) - Doubles	He Tian Tang (Vic) - Doubles
Robin Middleton (Vic)- Doubles

Development Group - Men	Development Group - Women
Raymond Tam (Vic) - Doubles	Gronya Somerville (Vic) - Doubles
Sawan Serasinghe (Vic) - Doubles	Jacqueline Guan (Vic) - Doubles
Matthew Chau (Vic) - Doubles	Joy Lai (Vic) – Singles
Ashwant Gobinathan (Vic) - Singles	Tara Pilven (Vic)– Singles
	Alice Wu (Vic) - Singles
	Verdet Kessler (SA) - Singles SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Commonwealth Games; Team and Individual event
• Sudirman Cup (Mixed Team World Championship)
• Thomas and Uber Cup (male and female team World Championships)
• Oceania Team Championships (Mixed team)
• Whyte Trophy
• World Championships Individual – based on World Rankings
• Olympic Games Individual – based on World Rankings

Suggestions to improve the Badminton skills

Use the left arm correctly

As you turn your shoulders, bend your left elbow and tuck the left arm into your body. Do not allow it to swing out wildly behind you, as this will upset your balance, rob you of power, and lower your point of contact with the shuttle.

Better footwork

Make sure you establish a wide base (feet at least shoulder-width apart) before hitting the shuttle, giving you a solid platform for the jump and body rotation. Land with a wide base too.

Stay relaxed

Players often tense up when they’re trying to hit a powerful shot. This ruins your muscles’ ability to generate explosive power: if your arm is tense, then it won’t transfer the power.