Badminton, one of the most popular racquet sports today, is said to have originated in England, thanks to the old children's game - shuttlecock and battledore that was the original inspiration behind modern-day badminton. Flying high since then, its popularity spread quickly across Asia and rest of the world, making it one of the most popular sports at both professional and amateur levels. Officially governed by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), which was started in 1934, the organisation is responsible for maintaining the rules of the game, equipment requirements and so on. With introduction to Olympics adding to its appeal, it is the Asian countries that dominate the badminton courts in international matches with each tournament drawing huge crowd in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and China. Read on to know more about the rules and regulations of this sporting event. You can find the Olympic record of this event so far in the table provided below.
Badminton Rules And Regulations
The intense and extremely competitive sport of badminton continues to woo enthusiasts even today. Read about the rules and regulations and the records made to familiarize with this wonderful sport.
Badminton
- In Olympics, badminton is played on a rectangular shaped court that is 13.4m in length and 5.18m in width for singles and 6.18m in width for doubles.
- In the game, players try to hit a shuttlecock over the net so that it falls on the opposition’s court.
- The match begins with a toss and the winner gets to decide whether to serve or receive first and which end of the court to play.
- In singles, if the score of the server is nil or an even number, he/she must stand on the right hand court and if it is an odd number, he/she must stand on the left hand side.
- Only the player who serves wins a point. In case he loses a point, the right to serve is passed on to the receiver.
- In men’s singles, the player who scores 15 points is declared the winner while for women’s singles it is 11 points. However, there must be a two points’ break over the opposition.
- In case of a 14-14 score in men’s singles and a 10-10 score in women’s singles, the side that scores 14 first can choose to set. In this score, the one who reaches 17 is the winner in men and 13 in women, irrespective of a gap of two points. In case the set is not chosen, the match goes on until one player attains a two-point break over the other.
- The matches are decided on the basis of ‘best of three’. The players change ends after each game.
- Before the third game commence, a five-minute break is given and a ninety-second break is given between the first and the second game. Players change ends in the third game once the score becomes eight.
- It is considered a fault if the serving player swing or distracts the attention of the opponent intentionally.
History
After being played as a demonstration sport in Munich Olympics in 1972 and Seoul Olympics in 1988, it became a medal sport in Barcelona Olympics in 1992. The Olympics witnessed four events with singles and doubles for both men and women. In 1996 in Atlanta, there were five events played along with mixed doubles. For 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, a playoff was included between the semi-final losers to decide on the winner of the bronze medal. The 2012 London Olympics would feature 172 athletes competing for five gold medals.
After being played as a demonstration sport in Munich Olympics in 1972 and Seoul Olympics in 1988, it became a medal sport in Barcelona Olympics in 1992. The Olympics witnessed four events with singles and doubles for both men and women. In 1996 in Atlanta, there were five events played along with mixed doubles. For 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, a playoff was included between the semi-final losers to decide on the winner of the bronze medal. The 2012 London Olympics would feature 172 athletes competing for five gold medals.