Badminton

Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs (doubles), who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their opponents' half of the court. Each side may only strike the shuttlecock once before it passes over the net. A rally ends once the shuttlecock has struck the floor, or if a fault has been called by either the umpire or service judge or, in their absence, the offending player, at any time during the rally. The shuttlecock (or shuttle) is a feathered (or plastic, mainly in uncompetitive games) projectile whose unique aerodynamic properties cause it to fly differently than the balls used in most racquet sports; in particular, the feathers create much higher drag, causing the shuttlecock to decelerate more rapidly than a ball. Shuttlecocks have a much higher top speed, when compared to other racquet sports. Because shuttlecock flight is affected by wind, competitive badminton is played indoors. Badminton is also played outdoors as a casual recreational activity, often as a garden or beach game. Since 1992, badminton has been an Olympic sport with five events: men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles, in which each pair consists of a man and a woman. At high levels of play, especially in singles, the sport demands excellent fitness: players require aerobic stamina, agility, explosive strength, speed and precision. It is also a technical sport, requiring good motor coordination and the development of sophisticated racquet movements.

History and development

The beginnings of badminton can be traced to mid-18th century British India, where it was created [2] by British military officers stationed there. Early photographs show Englishmen adding a net to the traditional English game of battledore and shuttlecock. The sport is related to ball badminton, which originated in Tamil Nadu, and is similar to Hanetsuki which originated in Japan. Being particularly popular [2][3] in the British garrison town Poona (now Pune), the game also came to be known asPoona. Initially, balls of wool referred as ball badminton were preferred by the upper classes in windy or wet conditions, but ultimately the shuttlecock stuck. This game was taken by retired officers back to England where it developed and rules were set out. Although it appears clear that Badminton House, Gloucestershire, owned by theDuke of Beaufort, has given its name to the sports, it is unclear when and why the name was adopted. As early as 1860, Isaac Spratt, a London toy dealer, published a booklet, Badminton Battledore a new game, but unfortunately [4] no copy has survived. An 1863 article in The Cornhill Magazine describes badminton as "battledore and [5] shuttlecock played with sides, across a string suspended some five feet from the ground". This early use has cast doubt on the origin through expatriates in India, though it is known that it was popular there [4][5] in the 1870s and that the first rules were drawn up in Poonah in 1873. Another source cites that it was [6] in 1877 at Karachi in (British) India, where the first attempt was made to form a set of rules. As early as 1875, veterans returning from India started a club in Folkestone. Until 1887, the sport was played in England under the rules that prevailed in British India. The Bath Badminton Club standardized the rules and made the game applicable to English ideas. J.H.E. Hart drew up revised basic regulations in [4] 1887 and, with Bagnel Wild, again in 1890. In 1893, the Badminton Association of England published the first set of rules according to these regulations, similar to today's rules, and officially launched badminton in a house called "Dunbar" at 6 Waverley Grove, Portsmouth, England on September 13 of [7] that year. They also started the All England Open Badminton Championships, the first badminton competition in the world, in 1899.

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The International Badminton Federation (IBF) (now known as Badminton World Federation) was established in 1934 with Canada, Denmark, England, France, the Netherlands,Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales as its founding members. India joined as an affiliate in 1936. The BWF now governs international badminton and develops the sport globally. While initiated in England, competitive men's badminton in Europe has traditionally been dominated by Denmark. Asian nations, however, have been the most dominant ones worldwide. Indonesia, South Korea, China, and Malaysia along with Denmark are among the nations that have consistently produced world-class players in the past few decades, with China being the greatest force in both men's and women's competition in recent years.

Competitions
The BWF organizes several international competitions, including the Thomas Cup, the premier men's international team event first held in 19481949, and the Uber Cup, the women's equivalent first held in 19561957. The competitions take place once every two years. More than 50 national teams compete in qualifying tournaments within continental confederations for a place in the finals. The final tournament involves 12 teams, following an increase from eight teams in 2004. The Sudirman Cup, a gender-mixed international team event held once every two years, began in 1989. Teams are divided into seven levels based on the performance of each country. To win the tournament, a country must perform well across all five disciplines (men's doubles and singles, women's doubles and singles, and mixed doubles). Likeassociation football (soccer), it features a promotion and relegation system in every level. Badminton was a demonstration event in the 1972 and 1988 Summer Olympics. It became an official Summer Olympic sport at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and its gold medals now generally rate as the sport's most coveted prizes for individual players. In the BWF World Championships, first held in 1977, currently only the highest ranked 64 players in the world, and a maximum of four from each country, can participate in any category. In both the Olympic and BWF World competitions restrictions on the number of participants from any one country have caused some controversy because they sometimes result in excluding elite world level players from the strongest badminton nations. The Thomas, Uber, and Sudirman Cups, the Olympics, and the BWF World (and World Junior Championships), are all categorized as level one tournaments. At the start of 2007, the BWF introduced a new tournament structure for the highest level tournaments aside from those in level one: the BWF Super Series. This level two tournament series, a tour for the world's elite players, stages twelve open tournaments around the world with 32 players (half the previous limit). The players collect points that determine whether they can play in Super Series Final held at the year end. Among the tournaments in this series is the venerable All-England Championships, first held in [13] 1900, which was once considered the unofficial world championships of the sport. Level three tournaments consist of Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix event. Top players can collect the world ranking points and enable them to play in the BWF Super Series open tournaments. These include the regional competitions in Asia (Badminton Asia Championships) and Europe (European Badminton Championships), which produce the world's best players as well as the Pan America Badminton Championships. The level four tournaments, known as International Challenge, International Series and Future Series, [14] encourage participation by junior players.

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Comparisons with other racquet sports
Badminton is frequently compared to tennis. The following is a list of uncontentious comparisons: In tennis, the ball may bounce once before the player hits it; in badminton, the rally ends once the shuttlecock touches the floor. In tennis, the serve is dominant to the extent that the server is expected to win most of his service games (at advanced level & onwards); a break of service, where the server loses the game, is of major importance in a match. In badminton a server has far less advantage, and is unlikely to score an 'ace' (unreturnable serve). In tennis, the server is allowed two attempts to make a correct serve; in badminton, the server is allowed only one attempt. The tennis court is larger than the badminton court. Tennis racquets are about four times as heavy as badminton racquets, 1012 ounces (approximately [15][16] 284340 grams) versus 23 ounces (70105 grams). Tennis balls are more than eleven times [17][18] heavier than shuttlecocks, 57 grams versus 5 grams. The fastest recorded tennis stroke is Ivo Karlovic's 156 mph (251 km/h) serve, whereas the fastest [20] badminton stroke during gameplay was Fu Haifeng's 206 mph (332 km/h) recorded smash.
[19]

Comparisons of speed and athletic requirements

Statistics such as the smash speed, above, prompt badminton enthusiasts to make other comparisons that are more contentious. For example, it is often claimed that badminton is the fastest racquet [citation needed] sport. Although badminton holds the record for the fastest initial speed of a racket sports projectile, the shuttlecock decelerates substantially faster than other projectiles such as tennis balls. In turn, this qualification must be qualified by consideration of the distance over which the shuttlecock travels: a smashed shuttlecock travels a shorter distance than a tennis ball during a serve. Badminton's claim as the fastest racquet sport might also be based on reaction time requirements, but arguably table tennis requires even faster reaction times. While fans of badminton and tennis often claim that their sport is the more physically demanding, such comparisons are difficult to make objectively because of the differing demands of the games. No formal study currently exists evaluating the physical condition of the players or demands during game play.

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ALL ENGLAND: World No 1 stamps his authority against Zheming to move into quarter-finals
LEE Chong Wei delivered an assuring performance to storm into the quarter-finals of the All-England Championships in Birmingham yesterday, a day after nearly exiting the tournament. World No 1 Chong Wei's 21-17, 21-19 win over China's Wang Zheming in the second round came on the back of a nervy display on Wednesday when he had to save two match points against unheralded Wong Wing Ki of Hong Kong. Chong Wei, who is the only Malaysian left in the men's singles, was back at nearly his best though he took a while to warm up, trailed 4-9 in the first game. But Chong Wei soon caught up and confirming he had overcome his opening match jitters, faked a net shot before lifting the shuttle to the back court to leave Zheming stranded at the net in setting up game point in the first game. Chong Wei controlled the second and though Zheming was never far off, the China shuttler never seriously threatened the Malaysian top seed, who will next meet either Vietnam's Nguyen Tien Minh or Sourabh Verma of India. While Chong Wei savoured victory, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong provided their critics with yet more ammunition after suffering a 21-17, 21-18 defeat to Thailand's scratch pairing of Maneepong JongjitNipitphon Puangpuapech in the men's doubles second round. The third seeded Malaysian pair, who have been given until the end of the year to produce results or else be split up, failed to justify their billing and were hardly in the match even when they led 18-17 in the second game before the Thais scored four points in a row. Thankfully, Malaysian interest did not end with Kien Keat-Boon Heong's demise as Hoon Tien How-Tan Wee Kiong reached the quarter-finals by beating Germans Ingo Kindervater-Johannes Schoettler 21-15, 21-15. Another seeded Malaysian pair to tumble out of the tournament was Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying when the third seeds lost 21-15, 21-17 to Indonesia's Fran Kurniawan-Shendy Puspa Irawati. Much was expected from Peng Soon-Liu Ying, who reached the semi-finals last year, but they were unable to avenge their previous defeat to the Indonesians at the 2011 India Open GP Gold event and follows on the heels of a first round exit at the German Open last month. On Wednesday, Chong Wei had a huge let off after saving two match points in the third game against Wing Ki in a 13-21, 21-6, 23-21 win. The top seeded Malaysian blew a 17-12 lead in the final game and then faced the real possibility of an early end to his campaign when Wing Ki held match points at 19-20 and 20-21 before Chong Wei finally pulled through. Chong Wei said: "I have never seen him play like that before. He was attacking strongly, going for everything and smashing well. "I was very lucky to come through. When he hit it out or he hit his smash into the net, it was lucky. I knew that was the deciding moment." "For a top player the first match is the real determining factor. I'm glad not to have been one of the casualties of the first round. I hope to play much better after this, and being the only Malaysian left in the draw is extra motivation for me."

Lee Chong Wei beat Wang Zhengming 21-17 21-19 in the second round of the All 1 England in Birmingham yesterday. New Straits Times

By Mohd. Syafiq Nabil