PATHFIT 4  Social Health – You’ll need at least one opponent, but you
can also play with a teammate and two other opponents. The
BADMINTON
WEEK #1
BENEFITS OF PLAYING BADMINTON
Much like tennis, badminton is a great racquet sport that offers a
tremendous amount of benefits for participants.
Whether it Is in singles or doubles, badminton is a fun and exciting
sport to pick up if you are looking for an activity that boosts your
physical, mental and social aspects of health.
Some of the many health benefits of Badminton include:
 Physical Fitness – Between the running, lunging, diving, and
ball hitting, playing badminton burns fat at approximately 450
calories per hour. The kind of cardiovascular workout can help
keep you in tip top shape, especially if you’re looking for a
good alternative and cross-training exercise.
 Develops Athleticism – The fast-paced nature of the game
increases your speed and improves your reflexes. Intelligence
is also a factor since players must know how to deceive their
opponents in every shot.
 Increased Muscle Tone – Playing badminton builds and
tones the quads, glutes, calves, and hamstrings. In addition,
your core muscles, arm and back muscles get a workout as
well.
 Psychological Benefits – Because badminton promotes
physical fitness, it helps to reduce stress and anxiety.
Exercise increases endorphins, which are the brain’s feel-
good neurotransmitters, and has also been found to improve
mood and sleep.
social interactions of a game will result in positive feelings
after a session on the court. Joining a league can also help
you become part of a community.
 Good for Overall Health – As with all forms of physical
exercise, badminton can reduce or eliminate your risk for
many health problems, such as high blood pressure, diabetes,
and obesity. It can also your risk for coronary heart disease by
reducing your triglyceride levels and increasing your good
cholesterol.
 Flexibility and Muscle Strength – The more you move, the
more flexible you become, especially in a sport like badminton
where swinging and reaching are required. In addition to
improving flexibility, players also gain muscle strength and
endurance.
 Mobility – As we age, mobility becomes limited, but staying
active can help prevent these problems. Keeping mobile
lubricates your joints, preventing arthritis, and similar
conditions from developing.
 Weight Loss – Badminton can also help with weight control
because of its fat-burning and metabolism boosting qualities.
Combined with proper diet, optimal weight loss may be
achieved.
 Decrease Risk for Diabetes – It can decrease the production
of sugar by the liver and therefore can decrease fasting blood
sugar. In fact, one study from the Diabetes Prevention
Program found exercise decreased the incidence of
developing diabetes by 58% even better than medication.
HISTORY OF BADMINTON  Since then, the number of world events has increased to
seven, with the addition of the Uber Cup (ladies’ team),
Badminton is one of the racquet sports requiring players to hit a
World Championships, Sudirman Cup (mixed team),
shuttlecock across a net with a racket inside a badminton court.
World Juniors, World Grand Prix Finals, and the World
Generally, it comes in 2 forms:
Cup.
 “Singles”, a 1 vs 1 game and  The next phase in the rise and rise of international badminton
 “Doubles”, a 2 vs 2 games. has been to retake the USA. The U.S. was an early
member of the IBF and initially one of the most successful.
You can play badminton in both indoor or outdoor environments,
 When the Uber Cup was introduced in 1956, Americans won
however, most of the world-class competitions are held in an indoor
the first three events. But then interest waned.
area because they want to reduce the influence caused by external
 A turning point in badminton’s growth was the $20 million
factors such as wind and lights to the minimum level.
tripartite contract in 1994 for sponsorship of the World
Grand Prix Finals.
 The World Cup invitational event started in 1981 and is
Origin of Badminton
organized by the International Management Group (IMG).
Badminton could be traced back to more than 2000 years ago to  The World Cup series is due to end in 1997, and the IBF is
the ancient game called battledore (bat or paddle) and shuttlecock considering organizing exhibition matches featuring the
(also called “bird” or “birdie”), similar games were played for world’s top players to replace the World Cup
centuries across Eurasia countries such as Greece, Egypt, China,  Under the terms of the deal between the IBF, IMG, and
India, and Japan. STAR TV, STAR injects the monies into the promotion and
development of badminton.
 Badminton took its name from Badminton House in
 In return, STAR gains total exclusivity for the exploitation of
Gloucestershire, the ancestral home of the Duke of
the commercial and television rights to the WGP Finals. “The
Beaufort, where the sport was played in the last century.
deal was good for both main parties,” said David Shaw, IBF’s
 Gloucestershire is now the base for the International
executive director, who was brought into the organization with
Badminton Federation.
a brief to grow the sport.
 The IBF was formed in 1934 with nine members: Canada,
 In December 1995, the IBF introduced a new concept
Denmark, France, Netherlands, England, New Zealand,
tournament in California, the Hong Ta Shan Cup, a men’s
Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The United States joined four
invitation tournament with the best players and big prize
years later.
money.
 Membership increased steadily over the next few years with a
 There are now plans to add a women’s event and to
surge in new members after the Olympic Games debut at
increase the prize money.
Barcelona.
 The first big IBF tournament was the Thomas Cup (men’s
world team championships) in 1948.
 The year 1996 was a landmark in USA badminton. It’s not
only the Atlanta Olympic Games that started to generate
tremendous interest in the U.S. market.
 For the recent Thomas and Uber Cups in Hong Kong, the
sale of commercial and television rights was a multimillion-
dollar contract.
 And it’s not just in Asia. In Europe also, there’s a growing
number of companies bidding for rights.
 Television companies worldwide are already buying exclusive
rights to the 1997 World Championships to be held in
Glasgow, Scotland.
 The degree of change is increasing. Badminton’s debut as an
Olympic Games sport has manifestly boosted interest
internationally.
 And it’s not just in Asia. In Europe also, there’s a growing
number of companies. The STAR TV agreement has
increased the sport’s coverage dramatically.
 And spectators are increasingly attracted to the exciting mix of
angles, tactics, touch, reaction, and fitness that would exhaust
a squash champion.