Olympic Badminton - History

• Badminton had taken part in the 1992 Summer Olympics .
• It has been contested in 5 Olympiads.
• 50 nations have taken part in the Olympic badminton competitions.
• 19 nations are those which appeared all 5 times.
• It is governed by the Badminton World Federation.
• The 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona saw the first appearance of badminton.
4 events were held [(singles, doubles) (men and women)].
Four medals were given in each event, including two bronzes.

• The next Olympics were in Atlanta in 1996,
It had 5 events with the addition of mixed doubles events. There was also now a playoff between the two semifinal losers to determine the sole winner of the bronze medal. That format has been used for the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics.

Badminton evolved as Olympic sport in 1992. London 2012 Olympic will see Badminton being contested in Wembley Arena from Saturday 28 July to Sunday 5 August. Badminton fans can get Olympic Badminton Tickets from Sport Ticket Exchange.



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Distinctive characteristics of the shuttlecock

Aerodynamic drag and stability:

The shuttlecock feathers accelerate it over distance while dragging, as it is extremely aerodynamic stability, inspite of initial orientation. It will turn to fly cork-first, and remain in the cork-first orientation.

The other consequences of the shuttlecock’s drag is that it should be skillfully hitted with the full length of the court. The drag also influences the flight path of a lifted (lobbed) shuttlecock: the parabola of its flight is heavily skewed so that it falls at a steeper angle than it rises. The shuttlecock will fall vertically if it is served with high serves.

Spin:

Balls may be spun to alter their bounce (for example, topspin and backspin in tennis), and players may slice the ball (strike it with an angled racket face) to produce such spin; but, since the shuttlecock is not allowed to bounce, this does not apply to badminton.

Slicing the shuttlecock so that it spins, however, does have applications, and some are particular to badminton.

1. Slicing the shuttlecock from the side may cause it to travel in a different direction from the direction   suggested by the player's racket or body movement. This is used to deceive opponents.
2. Slicing the shuttlecock from the side may cause it to follow a slightly curved path (as seen from above), and the deceleration imparted by the spin causes sliced strokes to slow down more suddenly towards the end of their flight path. This can be used to create dropshots and smashes that dip more steeply after they pass the net.
3. When playing a netshot, slicing underneath the shuttlecock may cause it to turn over itself (tumble) several times as it passes the net. This is called a spinning netshot or tumbling netshot. The opponent will be unwilling to address the shuttlecock until it has corrected its orientation.

Due to the way that its feathers overlap, a shuttlecock also has a slight natural spin about its axis of rotational symmetry. The spin is in a counter-clockwise direction as seen from above when dropping a shuttlecock. This natural spin affects certain strokes: a tumbling netshot is more effective if the slicing action is from right to left, rather than from left to right

Badminton evolved as Olympic sport in 1992. London 2012 Olympic will see Badminton being contested in Wembley Arena from Saturday 28 July to Sunday 5 August. Badminton fans can get Olympic Badminton Tickets from Sport Ticket Exchange.

Badminton Comparisons with other racquet sports

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 arguely stated that badminton is sthe fastest racquet sport. Although it keeps 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 addition, this qualification must be fullfilled by regarding distance over which the shuttlecock travels. It is understandable that a smashed shuttlecock travels a shorter distance than a tennis ball during a serve. So the claim for being a 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.

Comparisons of technique

Tennis and Bedminton both a different techniques. The light weight of racket and of the shuttlecock allow badminton players to make use of the wrist and fingers much more than a tennis players.

In tennis the stablity of wrist is required and the players have to avoid playing with a mobile wrist because it may lead to injusry. For the same reasons, badminton players can generate power from a short racket swing: for some strokes such as net kills, an elite player's swing may be less than 5 cm (2 in). Strokes that need more and more power to play, a long swing will be used, but the badminton racket swing will rarely be as long as a typical tennis swing.

The assertion takes us to the phenomena that while playing badminton strokes requires more power that mainly comes from wrist. This quote may be criticised for two reasons. First, it is strictly speaking a category error: the wrist is a joint, not a muscle; the forearm muscles control its movement. Second, wrist movements are weak when compared to forearm or upper arm movements. Anyhow some studies refer the generation of the power from wrist has a role at a minor level, and indicate that the major contributions to power come from internal and external rotations of the upper and lower arm.

Badminton evolved as Olympic sport in 1992. London 2012 Olympic will see Badminton being contested in Wembley Arena from Saturday 28 July to Sunday 5 August. Badminton fans can get Olympic Badminton Tickets from Sport Ticket Exchange.

Olympic Badminton - Videos

Badminton evolved as Olympic sport in 1992. London 2012 Olympic will see Badminton being contested in Wembley Arena from Saturday 28 July to Sunday 5 August. Badminton fans can get Olympic Badminton Tickets from Sport Ticket Exchange.

Olympic Badminton - Gallery

 

 

Badminton evolved as Olympic sport in 1992. London 2012 Olympic will see Badminton being contested in Wembley Arena from Saturday 28 July to Sunday 5 August. Badminton fans can get Olympic Badminton Tickets from Sport Ticket Exchange.

Olympic Badminton - Badminton Strokes

Forehand and backhand
A player's forehand side is the same side as their playing hand: for a right-handed player, the forehand side is their right side and the backhand side is their left side. Forehand strokes are hit with the front of the hand leading (like hitting with the palm), whereas backhand strokes are hit with the back of the hand leading (like hitting with the knuckles). Players frequently play certain strokes on the forehand side with a backhand hitting action, and vice versa.

Position of the shuttlecock and receiving player
The choice of stroke depends on how near the shuttlecock is to the net, whether it is above net height, and where an opponent is currently positioned: In the forecourt, a high shuttlecock will be met with a net kill, hitting it steeply downwards and attempting to win the rally immediately. In the midcourt, a high shuttlecock will usually be met with a powerful smash, also hitting downwards and hoping for an outright winner or a weak reply. Athletic jump smashes, where players jump upwards for a steeper smash angle, are a common and spectacular element of elite men's doubles play. In the rearcourt, players strive to hit the shuttlecock while it is still above them, rather than allowing it to drop lower.

Vertical position of the shuttlecock
When the shuttlecock is well below net height, players have no choice but to hit upwards. Lifts, where the shuttlecock is hit upwards to the back of the opponents' court, can be played from all parts of the court. If a player does not lift, his only remaining option is to push the shuttlecock softly back to the net: it is often called a push or block. When the shuttlecock is near to net height, players can hit drives, which travel flat and rapidly over the net into the opponents' rear midcourt and rearcourt. After a successful drive or push, the opponents will often be forced to lift the shuttlecock.

Deception
Once players have mastered these basic strokes, they can hit the shuttlecock from and to any part of the court, powerfully and softly as required. Badminton players have to cover a short distance as quickly as possible, the purpose of many advanced strokes is to deceive the opponent. When a player is genuinely deceived, he will often lose the point immediately because he cannot change his direction quickly enough to reach the shuttlecock. The racquet movement is typically used to suggest a straight angle but then play the stroke cross court, or vice versa.

Badminton evolved as Olympic sport in 1992. London 2012 Olympic will see Badminton being contested in Wembley Arena from Saturday 28 July to Sunday 5 August. Badminton fans can get Olympic Badminton Tickets from Sport Ticket Exchange.

Olympic Badminton - Playing Court

The court is rectangular and divided into halves by a net. Courts are usually marked for both singles and doubles play, although the laws permit a court to be marked for singles only. The doubles court is wider than the singles court, but both are of same length. The exception, which often causes confusion to newer players, is that the doubles court has a shorter serve-length dimension. The full width of the court is 6.1 metres (20 ft), and in singles this width is reduced to 5.18 metres (17 ft). The full length of the court is 13.4 metres (44 ft). The service courts are marked by a centre line dividing the width of the court, by a short service line at a distance of 1.98 metres (6 ft 6 inch) from the net, and by the outer side and back boundaries. In doubles, the service court is also marked by a long service line, which is 0.76 metres (2 ft 6 inch) from the back boundary. The net is 1.55 metres (5 ft 1 inch) high at the edges and 1.524 metres (5 ft) high in the centre. The net posts are placed over the doubles sidelines, even when singles is played. The minimum height for the ceiling above the court is not mentioned in the Laws of Badminton. Nonetheless, a badminton court will not be suitable if the ceiling is likely to be hit on a high serve.

Badminton evolved as Olympic sport in 1992. London 2012 Olympic will see Badminton being contested in Wembley Arena from Saturday 28 July to Sunday 5 August. Badminton fans can get
Olympic Badminton Tickets from Sport Ticket Exchange.