BADMINTON

Badminton is an indoor sport played using racquets to shuttle a cock across the net. Though it can be played with big teams, the popular variations are the ‘singles’ (has a single player on each side) and the ‘doubles’ (has two players on each side).

Since the shuttlecock’s directions get easily affected by wind, badminton competitions are held indoors, on a rectangular court. But when played as a casual recreational activity, it is played outdoors, at the beach or in the garden.

Points in this sport are gained by striking the shuttlecock using a racquet and getting it landed within the opponent side’s half of the court.

This enjoyable sport was invented in India as a version called ‘Poona’. Under the colonial rule, the British army officers learnt this game. The duke of Beaufort introduced it in 1873 at his country estate called Badminton. This is how the sport got its today’s name ‘badminton’.

History says that badminton had existed since ancient times in Asia and Europe. The names- shuttlecock and battledore are assumed to have originated over 2000 years ago. These games were a pastime for the upper class in England and many European countries during the 1600s.