BADMINTON

What is Badminton?
According to dictionary, Badminton is a sport in which light
rackets are used to volley an object—called a shuttlecock,
shuttle, birdie, or bird—back and forth over a high net. Unlike
other similar sports, such as tennis, badminton is not played
with a ball—the shuttlecock is a kind of feathered cone with a
cork head.
The game is named for Badminton, the country
estate of the dukes of Beaufort in Gloucestershire,
England, where it was first played about 1873. The
roots of the sport can be traced to ancient Greece,
China, and India, and it is closely related to the old
children's game battledore and shuttlecock.
 History of Badminton
The game of badminton originated in Siam, China
over 2,000 years ago. It was brought to England in 1870
and was played somewhat like tennis. After being
played in Canada, badminton arrived in America and
has been popular since 1929. Since 1992, badminton has
been an Olympic sport, with bird speeds reaching 100
m.p.h.
 Nature of the game
Badminton is played as a singles or doubles game with one or
two players on a side. The object of the game is to hit the
shuttlecock or “bird” back and forth with a racket across a net
five feet high at its center. The bird should be hit with such speed
and accuracy that the opponent is unable to return the shot
successfully. The game can either be fast or slow paced,
depending on the skill level of the players.
 FACILITIES/EQUIPMENT
1. Rackets are fragile. Avoid striking the floor, wall, net, posts, or your
partner. Also avoid flipping, throwing, or twirling rackets.
2. 2. Shuttlecocks should be handled by the tips only. Birds caught in
the net should be removed carefully.
3. Each student is responsible for reporting any damaged rackets to
the instructor.
4. Rackets are returned to the proper slot and birds to the basket at
the end of each peri od.
The court
 Court

Width: 6.1 meters (20 ft), and in singles this width is

reduced to 5.18 meters (17 ft).

Length: 13.4 meters (44 ft).

 Net
Height at the edges: 1.55 meters (5 ft 1 inch)
Height in the center: 1.524 meters (5 ft)
Racquet
Badminton racquets are lightweight, with top quality
racquets weighing between 70 and 95 grams (2.5 and 3.4
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.
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.
Game Rules and Scoring
 Players
1. Singles – one player on a side.
2. Doubles – two players on a side.
3. Mixed Doubles – one male and one female partner
opposing a male and female opponent.
 Rules
 A player must wait until his opponent is ready before serving. If the
opponent attempts a return, then he is ruled having been ready.
 The feet of both players must remain in a stationary position until
the serve is made. Your feet can not be touching the line at this time.
 It is not a fault if you miss the shuttle while serving.
 The shuttle cannot be caught and slung with the racket.
 A player cannot hold his racket near the net to ward off a
downward stroke by his opponent or to interfere with his racket.
 Faults
 The shuttle, at the instant of being hit is higher than the servers,
waist or the head of the racket is higher than the servers racket
hand.
 The shuttle does not land in the correct service court.
 The server's feet are not in the service court or if the feet of the
receiver are not in the court diagonally opposite the server.
 The server steps forward as he/she serves.
 A player touching the net or its supports with his body or racket
while the shuttle is in play.
 Scoring
1. Rally scoring allows for a point to be won by either team regardless
of which team is serving.
Odd numbers (1,3,5,7…) – will serve the left service
court.

Even numbers (0,2,4,6…) – will serve the right

service court.

Whoever serves previously will serve again if he

gets the point.
0 SINGLES 0
1 SINGLES 0
2 SINGLES 1
2. Both singles and doubles games are won with 21 points.
3. The side winning a rally adds a point to their score.
4. At 20 all, the side that gains a 2 point lead first, wins that
game.
5. At 29 all, the side scoring the 30th point wins that game.
6. In the third game of singles and doubles, players
change sides when a side scores 11 points.
7. A match is won by winning two out of three games.
Basic Skills
 A. Grip
In badminton, a grip is a way of holding the racket in order
to hit shots during a match. The most commonly used grip is the
orthodox forehand grip. Most players change grips during a
rally depending on whether it is a forehand or backhand shot.
A grip is also the wrapping around the handle of the racket.
1. Forehand grip – with the racket head perpendicular to the
floor, shake hands with the grip so the “V” formed by the
thumb and forefinger is on the top of the handle.
2. Backhand grip – using a forehand grip, rotate the hand
slightly so the thumb is along and parallel to the wide side of
the handle.
3. Bevel grip – thumb lies along the corner of the racket handle.
Fast finger slightly towards the top of the racket handle.
Thumbs goes along the bevel.
4. Panhandle grip - it is where you have the thumb on the side
of the racket, pinching the sides with your thumb and fingers
in the position shown below.
 B. Footwork
When we use the word 'footwork' in badminton, we're
referring to the speed and skill with which a player moves from
one zone of the court to another during the game. If you can't get
to the shuttle quickly enough, it can lead to missed shots, missed
points, and eventually a lost rally.
 In this section we will cover different footwork techniques
you should be using in game. These include ready position, side
step (chasse), lunge, scissor kick, crossover step and three-step
return to mid court.

Ready position
Your ready position is the stance and position that you want to
reach before your opponent hits the shuttlecock. It's called the
ready position because it helps you get ready for the next shot.
 Side Step (Chasse)
A chasse step allows you to move and cover a short distance efficiently on
the court. Start in the ready position with the racket in front of you. Push
off the ground with both feet and bring them a little closer in the air as you
move toward the shuttle.

Lunge
The badminton lunge is a closed chain movement taking the body through
triple (hip, knee, and ankle) flexion and triple extension on the dominant
(racket side) limb. In total, the mean duration of the badminton lunge is
reported to be between 2.1 and 2.2 seconds (27).
 Scissor kick
This type of step formation can be used to deliver a powerful shot from
the back of the court. In this shot the legs switch position in mid air
resembling the closing and then opening of scissors. It is often
proceeded by a chasses step, so the player will find they are still moving
backwards when the jump is started. Stage one is to jump straight off
the ground, then swap your dominant foot with your non dominant foot
in mid air with the non dominant foot landing momentarily before the
other.
Cross over step
Crossover step is a more advanced footwork that helps you get a
greater balance while moving forward and backward.
Three step return to mid court:
This type of step formation can be used to move to any corner of the court, and
does allow players to move further and faster, especially towards the net.

From the Net: After hitting a shot from the front of court use the dominant foot to
step back with first then the other foot, and then the racket foot again and this
should take a player back into the ready position, able to move towards the next
shot.

From Back court: After hitting a shot from the back of the court, the legs perform a
scissor like action as they leave the floor. This means the dominant leg swings
forward and the other leg swings back. The non-dominant leg should then be the
one that takes the majority of the weight as a players lands on it first, and this
should propel them back towards the middle of the court.
Then use the same 3 step pattern of dominant leg, non-dominant, and dominant leg
again to get back into the ready position once again.
 C. Strokes
A stroke is the swing motion of our racket arm. It is not a
shot. We need proper strokes to execute certain shots! The
power of any badminton shot (clear, smash, drops, etc.) is
directly related to how well you can perform your stroke.
 By using the same motion for all shots, the opponent is unable
to detect what shot you are going to make until the bird is actually
hit. A good wrist action allows more power and control with much
less effort. A forehand stroke is one from the dominant side; the
backhand stroke is from the non-dominant side. The racket is
swung back, the arm is bent with the elbow up, the wrist is cocked,
and the body weight is placed on the back foot. From this position,
the stroke is made by throwing the hand at the point of contact
between bird and racket with weight being transferred to the
forward foot. If possible, shots should be made with an overhand
stroke.
 There are 4 basic strokes:
Overhead forehand – the most common we see, the first to learn.

Overhead backhand – many people’s main weakness.

Underarm forehand – a low shot on the forehand side.

Underarm backhand – a low shot on the backhand side.

 Types of Badminton Shots

1. Clear – a shot used to drive your opponent away from the

net or forecourt or to slow the game. The bird should fly
above the opponent’s reach and fall within one foot of the
baseline.

2. Smash – an attacking shot made at the limit of one’s

upward reach and slightly in front of the shoulder. At the
moment of contact, the arm and wrist come down forcibly.
3. Drive – A flat shot kept as low as possible and is second
only to the smash as an attacking shot.

4. Drop Shot – any shot that drops immediately after crossing

the net. The
descent of the bird is controlled with little follow-through.

5. Net Shot – any shot played as near to the net as possible,

controlled by wrist and forearm. The hairpin shot is an
example of a net shot.
 D. Serves
1. High and deep (singles) – take a position near and on the proper side of
the center line and about four feet behind the short service line. Drop
the bird on the racket side and swing the racket forward.

2. Low and short (doubles) – take a position closer to the front service line.
The racket is swung forward with little follow-through.

3. Drive (flick) – a quick snap of the wrist in the backhand grip with the bird
held directly in front of the body. The bird travels in a direct line at the
receiver.
The serve is the way the shuttle is put into play. Typically,
the serves in badminton are different for singles and
doubles play. In singles, you want to serve with a high
long shot that will land near the back of your opponent's
court.
 E. Flight Patterns
It is flight consistency. Consistency refers to how long a shuttlecock can
maintain a consistent flight pattern. New ones often have the best flight
pattern. Shuttlecocks with low flight consistency lose the quality of its
flight pattern after a few hits.