Republic of the Philippines

Cagayan State University

www.csu.edu.ph

Historical Development and the Object of the Badminton

The origins of the game are obscure, but badminton is probably based on the human
enjoyment derived from hitting or kicking missiles with hands, “bats” or feet as depicted
in ancient pottery and carvings, and later engravings, pictures and drawings (Jones &
Jarvis, p.36).

A badminton-like game was known in ancient Greece and Egypt - a game called
battledore ("battledore" was an older term for "racquet") and shuttlecock over 2000
years ago. Two players use tiny rackets to strike a feathered shuttlecock back and forth.
As a variation of the previous game of battledore and shuttlecock, badminton emerged
in the mid-nineteenth century among the British. This game was known as jeu de volant
to them. Also, people in China played a game called ti jian zi in the 5th century BC.
Kicking the shuttle is a direct translation of the term ti jian zi. The goal of the game is to
keep the shuttle from hitting the ground without using your hands, as the term suggests.

Poona was a game played in India in the 1860 and is similar to Battledore and
Shuttlecock, only it has a net. During the British occupation in India in 1870’s, the British
soldiers were very much fascinated with the game, learned the game in India and
carried the equipment back to with them in England. Badminton House is a large country
house where they used to play badminton in the late 17th century. This is also where the
name badminton came from.

The game badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock
across a net. Its objective is to score points by hitting a shuttlecock over the net and into
your opponent's court, forcing them to make an error and be unable to return the
shuttlecock, and striking your opponent’s body with the shuttle.

Dizon-Poquiz et al. (2008) states that badminton is considered as dual sports played
in singles (one player per side) and in doubles (two players per side).

The sport made its Olympic debut in 1972 (Munich, Olympics) as a demonstration
sport, then as an exhibition sport in 1988 (Seoul Olympics). It was made a full-medal
Olympic sport in 1992 (Barcelona Olympics), with competitions for men's and women's
singles (one against one) and doubles (two against two). The 1996 Atlanta Olympic
Games had seen the inauguration of mixed doubles.

The International Badminton Federation (IBF) was established in 1934 and consisted
of nine founding members – badminton associations from Canada, Denmark, England,
France, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales.

In 2006 the IBF changed its name to the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF
is the world governing body for badminton, recognized by the International Olympic
Committee (IOC).