Badminton
History/Objective
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs (doubles). Each side passes over the net and on a rectangular court that is divided by a net.
Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquets so that it passes over the net and lands in their opponents' half of the court. A rally ends once the shuttlecock has struck the ground, and the shuttlecock may only be struck once by a player.
Badminton is an Olympic sport. At high levels of play, the sport demands excellent fitness: players require aerobic stamina, strength, and speed. It is also a technical sport, requiring good motor coordination and the development of sophisticated racket skills. (1)
Badminton was known in ancient times; an early form of the sport was played in ancient Greece and Egypt. In Japan, the related game Hanetsuki was played as early as the 16th century. In the west, badminton came from a game called battledore and shuttlecock, in which two or more players keep a feathered shuttlecock in the air with small rackets. The game was called "Poona" in India during the 18th Century, and British Army officers stationed there took a competitive Indian version back to England in the 1860's, where it was played at country houses as an upper class amusement. (2)
References
wikipedia.org/wiki/Badminton
Masters, James (1997). The Online Guide to Traditional Games.
Scoring
Each game is played up to 21 points, with players scoring a point whenever they win a rally (this differs from the old system, where players could only win a point on their serve).
A match is the best of 3 games.
Serving:
At the start of the rally, the server and receiver stand in diagonally opposite service courts (see court dimensions). The server hits the shuttlecock so that it would land in the receiver's service court. This is similar to tennis, except that a badminton serve must be hit from below the waist in underhand form (upwards), the shuttlecock is not allowed to bounce, and in tennis the players stand outside their service courts.
In singles, the server stands in his right service court when his score is even, and in his left service court when his score is odd.
In doubles, if the serving side wins a rally, the same player continues to serve, but he changes service courts so that he serves to each opponent in turn. When the serving side loses a rally, the serve passes to their opponents (unlike the old system, there is no "second serve"). If their new score is even, the player in the right service court serves; if odd, the player in the left service court serves.
The players' service courts are determined by their positions at the start of the previous rally, not by where they were standing at the end of the rally. A consequence of this system is that, each time a side regain the service, the server will be the player who did not serve last time. (4)
References
BBC Sport - Laws of Badminton
Types of Hits/Tactics
Court Dimensions
