badminton

1. What is badminton
Badminton is an indoor/outdoor game played with racket and shuttle cocks. The
game as such was started in PUNE (India) later the game was given a boost in
England with the name of the hall as "Badminton" was used to give the game its
official name.
From then on Badminton was taken up as a recreational sport rather than
competative before the game was picked up by the Asian giants like Indonesia,
China, Malaysia, Korea, Hongkong etc... and countries like Denmark, Germany,
Russia picked up the game later on
History of badminton
BADMINTON was invented long ago; a form of sport played in ancient Greece and
Egypt. Badminton came from a child's game called battledore and shuttlecock, in
which two players hit a feathered shuttlecock back and forth with tiny rackets.
The game was called "POONA" in India during the 18th Century, and British Army
Officers stationed there took the Indian version back to England in the 1860's. The
army men introduced the game to friends, but the new sport was definitely
launched there at a party given in 1873 by the Duke of Beaufort at his country
place, "Badminton" in Gloucestershire. During that time, the game had no name,
but it was referred to as "The Game of Badminton," and, thereupon, Badminton
became its official name.
Until 1887 the sport was played in England under the rules that prevailed in India.
They were, from the English viewpoint, somewhat contradictory and confusing.
Since a small army of badminton players had been recruited, a group formed itself
into the Bath Badminton Club, standardized the rules, made the game applicable
to English ideas and the basic regulations, drawn up in 1887, still guide the sport.
In 1895, the Badminton Association (of England) was formed to take over the
authority of the Bath Badminton Club, and the new group made rules, which now
govern the game throughout the world.

2. A shuttlecock (called bird or birdie in the USA)[1] is a high-drag projectile used in
the sport of badminton. It has an open conical shape: the cone is formed from
sixteen or so overlapping feathers, usually goose or duck and from the left wing
only, embedded into a rounded cork base. The cork is covered with thin leather.
The shuttlecock's shape makes it extremely aerodynamically stable. Regardless of
initial orientation, it will turn to fly cork first, and remain in the cork-first
orientation.
The name shuttlecock is frequently shortened to shuttle. The "shuttle" part of the
name was probably derived from its back-and-forth motion during the game,
resembling theshuttle of a loom; the "cock" part of the name was probably
derived from the resemblance of the feathers to those on a cockerel.

3. Badminton rackets are light, with top quality rackets weighing between about 70
and 100 grams (without strings). They are composed of carbon fiber composite
(graphite reinforced plastic), which may be augmented by a variety of materials.
Carbon fiber has an excellent strength to weight ratio, is stiff, and gives excellent
kinetic energy transfer. Before the adoption of carbon fiber composite, rackets
were made of light metals such as aluminum. Earlier still, rackets were made of
wood. Cheap rackets are still often made of metal, but wooden rackets are no
longer manufactured for the ordinary market, due to their excessive weight and
cost. There is a wide variety of racket designs, although the racket size and shape
are limited by the Laws. Different rackets have playing characteristics that appeal
to different players. The traditional oval head shape is still available, but an
isometric head shape is increasingly common in new rackets.
The 10 rules of badminton are as follows:
1. A game starts with a coin toss. Whoever wins the toss gets to decide whether
they would serve or receive first OR what side of the court they want to be on.
The side losing the toss shall then exercise the remaining choice.
2. At no time during the game should the player touch the net, with his racquet or
his body.
3. The shuttlecock should not be carried on or come to rest on the racquet.

4. 4. A player should not reach over the net to hit the shuttlecock.
5. A serve must carry cross court (diagonally) to be valid.
6. During the serve, a player should not touch any of the lines of the court, until
the server strikes the shuttlecock. During the serve the shuttlecock should always
be hit from below the waist.
7. A point is added to a player's score as and when he wins a rally.
8. A player wins a rally when he strikes the shuttlecock and it touches the floor of
the opponent's side of the court or when the opponent commits a fault. The most
common type of fault is when a player fails to hit the shuttlecock over the net or
it lands outside the boundary of the court.
9. Each side can strike the shuttlecock only once before it passes over the net.
Once hit, a player can't strike the shuttlecock in a new movement or shot.
10. The shuttlecock hitting the ceiling, is counted as a fault.
Different Badminton Strokes:
1. Serve - underhand stoke to start game play
2. Overhand Clear - overhand stroke driving the birdie high
and deep into the opponent's court
3. Underhand Clear - underhand stroke driving the birdie high
and deep into the opponent's court
4. Drop - a short shot in which just clears the net, and falls
close to the net in the opponent's court.
5. Smash - an overhead stroke in which the birdie travels at a downward angle
(spike).