60 Fun Facts About Badminton

How many times may each side strike the shuttle before it must cross the net?

Play ends the moment the shuttle touches the floor or a fault is called by the umpire, service judge or the other side.

Under the rally-point rules adopted in 2006, how many points is a game played to?

Under the old system games went to 15 and only the server could score; a match is still the best of three games.

Under the 21-point scoring system, what happens if a game is tied 29-29?

From 20-20 a side normally needs a two-point lead, but the cap at 30 stops games running forever.

Which stately home gave badminton its name?

Nobody knows exactly why or when; a London toy dealer was already selling 'Badminton Battledore' in 1860.

Where did the modern game develop in the mid-19th century?

Expatriate officers adapted an older racquet-and-shuttle pastime, and it was hugely popular by the 1870s.

What was the sport first called, after the Indian town where its rules were written in 1873?

Returning officers started a club in Folkestone by 1875, and early outdoor shuttles were sometimes weighted with lead.

What was the older game that badminton grew out of?

'Battledore' was simply an old word for a racquet, and games with shuttlecocks had been played across Eurasia for centuries.

In which English city did the Badminton Association of England officially launch the sport in 1893?

The launch was at a house called 'Dunbar' on 13 September, using rules revised by J. H. E. Hart of the Bath club.

What is the world's oldest badminton tournament, first held in 1899?

Its first edition was doubles only; singles arrived in 1900, and it was the unofficial world championship until 1977.

Where was the world's first open badminton tournament held, in 1898?

Its success prompted the All England the following year at London's Horticultural Halls.

In which year was the International Badminton Federation, now the BWF, founded?

The nine founders were seven European associations plus Canada and New Zealand; India joined in 1936.

Where has the Badminton World Federation been headquartered since 2005?

It moved from Cheltenham in 2005 and took the name Badminton World Federation at a meeting in Madrid in 2006.

At which Olympics did badminton become a full medal sport?

Four events were held, with singles and doubles for men and women; mixed doubles was added four years later.

Which country is the only one to sweep every Olympic badminton gold, which it did in 2012?

The runner-up nation across Olympic badminton history is a Southeast Asian archipelago.

Which European country has traditionally dominated men's badminton on its continent?

The Danes became the first non-Asian nation to win the men's world team title in 2016.

What is the premier men's international team event, first held in 1948-49?

Sir George Alan Thomas, inspired by tennis's Davis Cup and football's World Cup, presented the trophy in 1939.

Which country had won the Thomas Cup most often, 14 times, by the end of 2024?

Fourteen titles to China's twelve, though China did not enter until 1982; India became the sixth winner in 2022.

The women's world team championship is named after which British player who proposed it in 1950?

She drew the lots for the first tournament in 1956-57 at Lytham St Annes; China has since won it 16 times.

What is the mixed-team world championship, held every two years since 1989, called?

Along with the two single-sex team cups, the Olympics and the World Championships, it is one of the sport's level-one events.

How many feathers does a traditional shuttlecock have?

They are goose or duck feathers set in a cork base, and makers avoid mixing left- and right-wing feathers because they are shaped differently.

What is a shuttlecock also commonly called?

The 'shuttle' half of the name comes from a loom's back-and-forth shuttle; the 'cock' from the rooster-like feathers.

Roughly how much does a regulation shuttlecock weigh?

The rules allow 4.75 to 5.5 grams; feather shuttles should be humidified for four hours before play so they do not go brittle.

Feathers for shuttlecocks are usually plucked from which birds?

The feathers should all come from the same wing, left or right, so the shuttle flies true.

What is the full width of a badminton court?

That is 20 feet; singles narrows it to 5.18 metres, while the length stays at 13.4 metres.

How high is a badminton net at its centre?

It rises to 1.55 metres at the posts, which sit on the doubles sidelines even during singles.

Below what height must the whole shuttle be when struck on a serve?

It replaced the older waist-and-racquet-head rule, and the shuttle must not bounce, unlike a tennis serve.

In singles, from which service court does a player serve when their score is even?

Odd scores are served from the left, and server and receiver stand diagonally opposite.

What is unusual about the doubles court compared with the singles court?

The long service line for doubles sits 0.76 metres inside the back boundary, a rule that confuses many beginners.

What is a let in badminton?

It might be called when a shuttle from the next court lands on yours or the shuttle clips an overhead rail.

Roughly how much does a top-quality badminton racquet weigh, without strings or grip?

Carbon-fibre composite replaced aluminium, which itself replaced wood; nanotubes are now added for durability.

Which shot hits the shuttle high and deep to the back of the opponent's court?

Drop shots do the opposite, falling sharply into the forecourt; both are hit overhead from the rear court.

What is a shot that travels flat and fast just over the net called?

Drives and pushes are mostly a doubles weapon, used to regain the attack instead of lifting and defending against smashes.

Which basic stroke do most players and coaches consider the hardest in badminton?

Precise technique is needed to muster enough power for the shuttle to travel the whole court from a backhand.

What is a 'tumbling' or 'spinning' net shot?

Opponents will not want to hit it until it rights itself, and it works best sliced right to left because of the shuttle's natural spin.

Which part of the arm do modern coaching guides say generates most of a stroke's power?

Studies found the wrist plays only a minor role, despite the sport's reputation for wristy shots.

What was the speed of Mads Pieler Kolding's record smash, the fastest stroke recorded in gameplay?

That beats the fastest tennis serve, Samuel Groth's 263 km/h, though the shuttle slows far quicker than a ball.

What did the BWF try to make female players wear in 2011 'to ensure attractive presentation'?

The rule made the official book but was scrapped before it took effect in 2012.

Which Chinese player, nicknamed 'Super Dan', was the first man to retain an Olympic singles gold?

A Danish rival coined the nickname after the 2004 All England final; Lin completed the sport's 'Super Grand Slam' by 28.

Which Malaysian won three straight Olympic silver medals from 2008 to 2016?

He was world number one for 349 weeks and retired in 2019 after treatment for nose cancer.

Which Indonesian won the All England men's singles a record eight times, seven in a row from 1968?

Born Nio Hap Liang in Surabaya, he trained as a boy in a club his father set up in a railway warehouse.

Who won the first Olympic women's singles badminton gold in 1992 and married a fellow 1992 champion?

Her husband Alan Budikusuma took the men's title in Barcelona; she is the only woman to hold Olympic, World and All England titles at once.

Which Chinese doubles player holds the record of four Olympic badminton medals?

She won mixed doubles gold in 2000 and 2004 with Zhang Jun and six straight All England women's doubles titles with Huang Sui.

Which Indonesian, nicknamed 'Mr Backhand', won Olympic gold in Athens in 2004?

His 305 km/h forehand jump smash at the 2006 Worlds was once the fastest recorded in singles; he later became a deputy sports minister.

Which Dane won the 1999 All England, five European titles and topped the rankings from 1998 to 2001?

Known for creative deception, he uses a 'double action' trademark shot that sends the shuttle deep while drawing the opponent forward.

Which Spaniard became the first non-Asian woman to win Olympic badminton gold, in Rio 2016?

A keen flamenco dancer as a child, she left Huelva for Madrid at a young age and later won the Princess of Asturias Award.

Which Dane won back-to-back Olympic men's singles golds in Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024?

Born in Odense, he was the only non-Asian to win the World Junior title, in 2010, and won the World Championships in 2017 and 2022.

Which Taiwanese player held the women's singles world number one ranking for a record 214 weeks?

Her father was a firefighter who ran Kaohsiung's badminton committee; she won the World Tour Finals a record four times.

Which Chinese player is the only woman to win consecutive Olympic singles golds, in 2004 and 2008?

Her breakthrough came late for a Chinese star, winning the 2003 world title at 28.

Which country beat Malaysia 3-2 in the 2014 final to become the fourth men's world team champion?

India became the sixth winner in 2022; only six countries have won it in 30 editions.

What was Badminton House's village recorded as in the Domesday Book of 1086?

The Dukes of Beaufort moved there from Raglan Castle in the late 17th century, and the estate covers 52,000 acres.

At which two Olympics was badminton a demonstration sport before joining the programme?

The IOC formally admitted it in 1989, and since 1996 a bronze-medal playoff has replaced the two-bronze format.

What was the projectile made of in early 'ball badminton', played in Thanjavur in the 1850s?

The British played it interchangeably with badminton, preferring the woollen ball in wind or rain.

What are the four Super 1000 events on the BWF World Tour, held in badminton's historic strongholds?

They rank just below the World Championships and Olympics, broadly the equivalent of tennis's Grand Slams.

A correctly paced shuttlecock, hit underhand from the back line, should land how far short of the far line?

It is the official test in the Laws of Badminton, struck upward and parallel to the sidelines.

Roughly what string tension do professionals use?

Recreational players string looser, and whether tighter strings mean more control or less power has never been rigorously tested.

Which German word for badminton literally means 'feather-ball'?

Several languages name the sport after the shuttle's distinctive flight rather than an English country house.

Under the old scoring system, games were played to how many points, with points won only on serve?

Doubles pairs also got a 'second serve' under the old rules; the modern rally-point system hands serve straight to the opponents.

Before carbon-fibre composites, badminton racquets were made of which light metal?

Modern frames go further still, adding nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes and fullerenes for durability.

What is the steep downward stroke used to finish a rally when a high shuttle is met in the forecourt?

Further back, a high shuttle in the midcourt would be met with a smash instead.

Whatever its starting orientation, a shuttlecock always turns to fly with which part leading?

That aerodynamic stability is why a well-struck shuttle never tumbles end over end in flight.