History of Badminton free essay sample

Badminton was invented a long time ago; the game was played in ancient Greece and Egypt. Badminton came from a child’s game called battledore and shuttlecock. This game was played with two players hitting a feathered shuttlecock back and forth with tiny rackets. The game was called ‘Poona’ in India during the 18th Century. Badminton took its name from Badminton House in Gloucestershire, the ancestral home of the Duke of Beaufort, where the sport was played I the last century. Gloucestershire is now the base for the International Badminton Federation. The IBF formed in 1934 with 9 members- Canada, Denmark, France, Netherlands, England, New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The United States joined 4 years later. Membership increased steadily over the next few years with a surge in new members after the Olympic Games debut at Barcelona. The 1st IBF tournament was the Thomas Cup (Men’s world team championships) in 1948. Since then, the number of world events has increased to 7, with the addition of the Uber Cup (ladies’ team), World Championships, Sudiman Cup (mixed team), World Juniors, World Grand Prix Finals and the World Cup. We will write a custom essay sample on History of Badminton or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page A turning point in badminton’s growth was the $20 million tripartite contract in 1994 for sponsorship of the World Grand Prix Finals. Under the terms of the deal between the IBF, IMG and STAR TV, STAR injects the monies into the promotion and development of badminton. In return STAR gains total exclusivity for the exploitation of the commercial and television rights to the WGP Finals. â€Å"The deal was good for both main parties†, said David Shaw, IBF’s Executive Director, who was brought into the organization with a brief to grow the sport. We needed a strong partner in television, and the broadcaster had identified badminton as a vehicle which would attract audiences across Asia to its Prime Sports Channel†. 1996 was a landmark in USA badminton. It’s not only the Atlanta Olympic Games that started to generate tremendous interest in the US market. In December 1995 the IBF introduced a new concept tournament in California, the Hong Ta Shan Cup; a me n’s invitation tournament with the best players and big prize money. There are now plans to add a women’s event and to increase the prize money to $200,000. This makes the event the most valuable World Grand Prix event in the series and gives it sex-star status. There are eight main Badminton Techniques or Skills: Badminton Grip, Badminton Footwork, Badminton Serve, Badminton Clears, Badminton Drop Shots, Badminton Smash, Badminton Drive, and lastly the Badminton Net Play. Starting with the Badminton Grip, Holding the racket wrongly will decrease your strokes power and accuracy. Your shots will be limited and therefore you will not enjoy the game as much let alone improve. There are two basic Badminton Grips, The Forehand Grip and the Backhand Grip. The Backhand Grip is used to hit shots that are on the backhand side of your body. You hold the racket as you would on a forehand grip and turn the racket anti-clockwise so that the V shape moves leftwards. Place your thumb against the back bevel of the handle for greater leverage and power. The Forehand Grip is used to hit shots that are on the forehand side of your body and around the head shots. You hold the racket head with your non-playing hand so that the handle points towards you; your racket face shall be perpendicular to the floor. You place your playing hand on the handle as if you are shaking hands with it. The rules for the Badminton scoring system are that a badminton match shall consist of the best of 3 games. In doubles and mens singles, the first side to score 15 points wins the game. In womens singles, the first side to score 11 points wins the game. If the score becomes 14-all (10-all in womens singles), the side which first scored 14 (10) shall exercise the choice to continue the game to 15 (11) points or to set the game to 17 (13) points. The side winning a game serves first in the next game. Only the serving side can add a point to its score.