Over the years, Badminton as a sport has revolutionized in terms of participation, viewership, and quality as a whole. It is one of the most popular sport in the World with World-class players like Kento Momota, Tai Tzu Ying, PV Sindhu, Carolina Marin, and more who dominate the International Circuit. However, an interesting history lies behind the origin of Badminton as a sport. Take a look at the origins of badminton and the development of the sport Worldwide.
Origin of Badminton
The mentions of badminton date back 2000 years when it was called the game of battledore and shuttlecock which was predominantly played in Ancient Greece, India, and China. In this period, players used a paddle(battledore) to hit the shuttlecock between them and kept it from failing to fall on the ground.
However, the transformation of the sport started in Poona when the British took over India. A group of tired soldiers in Khadki (an area in Pune), looked for relaxation so they made a shuttle-like object using cork, feathers, and voila. They played by passing the object to and fro like a ball giving rise to badminton. The sport gathered so much popularity in Pune and eventually it was called ‘the Poona Game’. Moreover, the first set of informal badminton rules were formulated in India by the British colonists in 1867.
Additionally, in Southern India, another version of badminton, known as ball badminton became popular. In this, the game was played with woolen balls instead of shuttlecocks, and the British Soldiers got inspired by this idea as well. Therefore, in windy or wet conditions, the game was played with a woolen ball.
Eventually, the game traveled worldwide as British Officers introduced the game to Britain and Commonwealth.
Why is the sport called Badminton?
While the game popularised in Britain, the ninth Duke of Beaufort, Henry Somerset was fascinated by the game. In 1873, the Duke then introduced the game to his guests at a lawn party held at his estate in Gloucestershire.
Interestingly, the name of his estate was ‘The Badminton House’ and he called it ‘The Badminton Game’ following the name of his estate. Since then, the name ‘Badminton’ has been frozen as the name of the sport.
Rules of the Sport
From a game, badminton revolutionized as a competitive sport. In the 1870s, the Bath Badminton Club was formed which formulated new rules for the sport in 1877.
These rules were further improvised by the Badminton Association of England in 1893. The sport grew in terms of participation and championships with the All England Open Championships, first played in 1899, being the oldest badminton tournament to date.
History of the Formation of International Badminton Federation (IBF)
With the widespread reach of the sport following the All England Championships, the International Badminton Federation was formed on 5th July 1934. Initially, it comprised nine members namely, Denmark, England, Canada, Netherlands, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales.
In 2006, all the 176 members of IBF voted to change the name of the Federation to Badminton World Federation. The IBF, now known as the Badminton World Federation(BWF) is still the governing International body of Badminton.
Badminton at the Olympics
Badminton first appeared as a demonstration sport at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. However, it took 20 long years to be included as an Olympic Sport at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Badminton became an official Olympic sport at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. It included only singles and doubles for both men and women. Later, the mixed doubles category was introduced at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Since then, Badminton has contested in every Olympic Games till now. Moreover, the sport flourished after its inclusion at the Summer Olympics.
Also read: Olympic Oath: An Exquisite Guide
First Badminton Olympic Winners
- Men’s Singles: Alan Budikusuma(Indonesia)
- Women’s Singles: Susi Susanti(Indonesia)
- Men’s Doubles: Kim Moon-soo & Park Joo-bong (South Korea)
- Women’s Doubles: Hwang Hye-young & Chung So-young (South Korea)
