10 Amazing Facts About Badminton

Badminton is a recreational and one of the fastest sports in the world, which requires quick reflexes and superb conditioning, and is played on a rectangular court with the help of a racket and a shuttlecock.

Badminton was invented long ago and had a great history, and like every other sport, some fascinating facts about badminton will shock you.

So now, let me introduce you to some of these amazing facts:

1. Badminton is a more intense sport than tennis

A tennis match usually lasts longer than a badminton match, but statistically, one badminton match is much more intense than a tennis match.

The match intensity, no of rallies, no. of shots, shots per rally, and distance covered are statistically higher in a game of badminton compared to a game of tennis.

2. Badminton is the second most popular sport in the world

You might surprise after knowing that badminton is one of the fastest sports in the world and the second most popular sport after football. According to BWF, it is estimated that badminton is played regularly by approximately 339 million people once a week around the world.

This racket sport proved popular when it was first introduced in the Olympics in 1992. To the record, it is estimated that approximately 1.1 billion people watched the badminton competition on television.

3. Badminton was invented in India

The exact origins of badminton remain dubious, but some research and articles state that badminton originated almost 2000 years ago in ancient India, China, and Greece.

In medieval Europe, children used to play a sport called battledore and shuttlecock. The game later developed in India among the British expatriates, where it was very popular by the 1870s; as the sport was known as Poona or Poonah, named after the garrison town of Poona and the first informal set of badminton rules for the game were formed in India by the British colonists in 1867.

4. The Asian domination of the sport

In 1992, badminton became an official sport in Olympics, and since then, Asian players have won most of the titles, 93 Olympic medals out of 103.

Asian countries like China and Indonesia are the top badminton countries to win 70% of the BWF events and championships.

Coming to the Tomas cup, the Men’s world team Championship, then to date, it has been won by only three Asian countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, and China, whereas Uber Cup, the women’s world team championship, is commonly won by Asian countries, that includes China, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea, while the USA is the only one of the non-Asian countries to win Uber Cup in 1957, 1960, and 1963.

5. A shuttlecock is made from the left wing of a goose

Shuttlecock or birdie is a high-drag projectile that holds a conical shape and is manufactured in an aerodynamic design, which is open from above and is hit with the racket to deliver it from one side of the net to another.

A feathered shuttlecock is made up of the left wing of a goose feather because these feathers are best regarding flexibility, strength, and structure. Also, it provides better aerodynamics, as the left-wing spins clockwise, whereas the right-wing spins counter-clockwise.

6. The strings of the badminton racket are made from animal gut

You will be surprised after knowing this fact.

Synthetic fibres were introduced in the market when DuPont (an American company) developed nylon to compensate for the rubber shortage during World War II. And till then, badminton rackets were stringed using animal gut (a thin and tough cord made up of animal’s intestines like cats, cows, and pigs).

7. Badminton was initially played with the player’s feet

The roots of badminton also originated in China as people there in the 5th century used to play a sport called Ti Zian Ji, which was a precursor of badminton and was initially played with players’ feet. Highest Jump Smash.

Players used their feet instead of rackets to hit the shuttlecock, which is slightly different from a normal shuttlecock. And the interesting part is that you can still see people playing this sport in some parts of China.

8. Longest rally in badminton history

The longest badminton rally in history was recorded in 2015.

It was recorded in a match, which was held between Naoko Fukuman/ Kurumi Yonao and Poon Lok Yan/ Tse Ying Suet ended after 256 shots and took 4.5 minutes.

9. Highest jump smash to date

An Indonesian player, Liem Swie King, was the one to introduce jump smashes to the International Circuit.

He is well-known for his high jump smashes and achieved a height of 1 meter while executing a jump smash, one of the highest jumps recorded in badminton history.

10. The shortest and longest badminton match

You will be shocked when you know that the shortest badminton match was held in Hong Kong in the 1996 Uber Cup, which lasted for only six minutes, where South Korean player Ra-Kyung-min defeated an England player, Julia Mann.

And on the other hand, the longest match in history was recorded during the semi-final at the 2016 Asian Championships. The match lasted for approx (161 minutes), 2 hours and 41 minutes.