Badminton: History, Rules and Techniques

PATHFIIT 4 BADMINTON Professor: Michelle Mae M. Asonda, LPT Badminton is a racket sport played using a racket to hit a shuttlecock across a net. It is a popular racket sport played either indoors or outdoors, involving two players (singles) or two teams of two players (doubles). The objective is...

PATHFIIT 4 BADMINTON Professor: Michelle Mae M. Asonda, LPT Badminton is a racket sport played using a racket to hit a shuttlecock across a net. It is a popular racket sport played either indoors or outdoors, involving two players (singles) or two teams of two players (doubles). The objective is to score points by striking a shuttlecock with a racquet, ensuring it lands on the opponent's side of the court, either by making it hit the ground or forcing an error. HISTORY OF BADMINTON ANCIENT CHINA Dating back to the 5th century BC, when people played a game called Ti Jian Zi, which means "kick shuttlecock". TI JIAN ZI - a traditional Chinese sport where players keep a shuttlecock in the air by kicking it with different parts of their body, without using their hands. EUROPE (17th Century) The roots of badminton lie in the ancient game "battledore and shuttlecock" which was played in various forms across Europe and Asia for centuries. “Battledore and Shuttlecock” - A light, flat bat or racket used to strike a shuttlecock. INDIA (17th century) In India, it was played in the City of Pune (‘Poona’) by the British Army Officers. British army officers got introduced to the indigenous version of the game, played for centuries, while stationed in India around the 1860s. They made their own adaptations to the sport, primarily adding the net and called it Poona or Poonah, after the town (Pune) the garrison was based in. "Poona" - was the original name for badminton, which was invented in the city of Pune (Poona), India in the mid-1800s. ENGLAND (1870’S) Badminton was introduced to England in the 1870s by British military officers who played it in India. The game was originally called "battledore" and was played without a net or court. HENRY SOMERSET (Duke of Beaufort) “BADMINTON HOUSE” in Gloucestershire In 1873, the Duke of Beaufort introduced the game at his estate, Badminton House in Gloucestershire. The game was named after the estate. In 1887, the Bath Badminton Club standardized the rules. In 1893, the Badminton Association of England published the first set of rules. In 1899, the Badminton Association of England started the All England Open Badminton Championships, the first badminton competition in the world. Badminton has been an Olympic sport since 1992. In 1934, the International Badminton Federation (IBF) was organized, now known as the Badminton World Federation. The first big IBF tournament was the Thomas Cup (Men’s World Team Championships) in 1948. First contested as an official Olympic sport at the 1992 Olympic game in Barcelona, Spain. Five events: Men’s Singles Women’s Singles Men’s Doubles Women’s Doubles Mixed Doubles EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES RACKET / RACQUET - A light bat with a net or nylon stretched in an oval frame - It weighs not more than 100 grams. - Its length does not exceed 680mm and width does not exceed 230 mm. - The light material is made of aluminum. - The badminton strings are thin, high performing strings range from 0.62 to 0.73 mm thickness Five Parts of Racket Head Stringed Area Throat Shaft Handle Two types of Grips Towel Grip - composed of dense cotton that gives the badminton grip a fuzzy texture Synthetic Grip - a replacement grip for a badminton racket that's made of synthetic material, such as polyurethane SHUTTLECOCK (BIRDIE) - It has an open conical shape formed by feathers or plastic (or a synthetic alternative) embedded into a rounded cork (or rubber) base. - Composed of 16 goose feathers attached to a cork base covered with leather. Five Parts of Shuttlecock Feathers String/Thread Cork NET A physical barrier that separates the two sides of a badminton court Width - 6.1 METERS (20 FEET) Net Height - 0.76 METERS (2 FEET AND 6 INCHES) Net Height from the Net to the ground - 1.524 METERS (5 FEET) POSTS/POLES 1.55 METERS (5 FEET AND 1 INCH) BADMINTON COURT SINGLES  13.4 METERS (44 FEET) LONG 5.18 METERS (17 FEET) WIDE DOUBLES 13.4 METERS (44 FEET) LONG 6.1 METERS (20 FEET) WIDE TERMINOLOGIES 1. Alley Side-extension of the court by 1½ feet on both sides that is used for doubles play. The side alley of the court is “illegal” area for singles play. 2. Back Court The playing area between the front service line and the baseline. 3. Baseline Back boundary line at each end of the court, that runs parallel to the net. 4. Carry An illegal tactic, also called a sling or throw, in which the shuttle is caught and held on the racket and then slung during the execution of a stroke. 5. Center Line Line perpendicular to the net that separates the left and right service courts. 6. Clear A shot hit deep into the opponent’s back court. 7. Drive A fast and low shot that makes a horizontal flight over the net. 8. Drop A shot that skims the net and then quickly drops into the opponent’s court. 9. Fault A violation of the playing rules, either in serving, receiving, or during play. 10. Forecourt The playing area between short service line and the net. 11. Let A legitimate cessation of play to allow a rally to be replayed. 12. Net Shot Shot hit from the forecourt that just clears the net and drops sharply. 13. Serve or Service Players put the shuttlecock into play for points by “serving” it to opponents, hitting it over the net into a special part of the court near their opponent. 14. Service Court Area into which the serve must be delivered. Different for singles and doubles play. 15. Receiver  The players who are to receive the serve. 16. Service Over Serve going to the other side when the right to serve is lost. 17. Short Service Line The line 6 l/2 feet from the net which a serve must reach to be legal. 18. Smash When a shuttle is floated high into the air, a player has time to unleash a powerful overhand shot straight to the floor of the opposing court 19. Rally This occurs when the players hit the shuttlecock back and forth several times before one side scores a point. 20. Match A series of games to determine a winner. 21. Double Hit Hitting the shuttle twice in succession on the same stroke. This is illegal. Rules and Regulations The rules and regulations are set up to prevent injuries happening, to have fair competition, and that the game is playing peacefully with no fights and no other violent actions. A. TOSSING FOR SERVE Before a match begins, opponents can toss a coin to determine who shall get the choice of “serve” or “side”. B. SCORING The RALLY POINT SYSTEM is used in scoring the badminton game which means any fault committed by the serving or receiving team gains points. LOVE – designates a score of zero. LOVE-ALL – is called when both opponents and teams have a score zero. IN SIDE – is called for the serving player or team. OUT SIDE – is called for the receiving player or team. GAME POINT – is the point that server won which results top the server’s winning the match. C. CHANGE OF ENDS Players change ends of the court at the beginning of the second game and at the beginning of the third game if the third game is necessary. Basic Service Rules Several foundational rules govern the badminton service: Server Position: Stand behind the service line within the service court. Continuous Motion: Deliver the serve in a continuous forward motion.  Racket Position: Keep the racket below the wrist during the strike. Fair Play: Avoid intentionally confusing or distracting the opponent. Officiating Officials Umpire: The ‘main judge’ for the particular badminton game. He/she has the power to overrule any decisions made by the service judge or line judges. The umpire is the person ensuring that the badminton game runs smoothly and prevent any players from delaying the game play. Whenever a player requests to change the shuttle, the umpire will need to approve that the change could be made. The umpire also looks out for faults committed around the net area such as whether a player touched the net when returning the shuttle. Besides, the umpire is responsible to make a ‘fault’ call when the shuttle touches the player or the players’ attires except for the badminton racket. In badminton, it will be a fault/foul to a player if the shuttle touches any part of that player’s body or attire. Service Judge: The service judge is responsible for making a ‘service fault’ call and to provide shuttles to the players. Line Judges: Line judges sit beside the badminton court (right in front of every in/out lines) to determine whether the shuttle is inside or outside the boundaries of the court. Hand Signals Service Judge Hand Signals Service fault is one of the most common faults seen in badminton, so, in international competitions, as well as an umpire and six line judges, there will also be a service judge who will sit opposite the umpire and will judge if a player’s service action is in accordance with the rules. Below, we will introduce the hand signals for five commonly seen service faults. Undue delay of service BWF rule 9.1.1 states “Neither side shall cause undue delay to the delivery of the service once the server and the receiver are ready for the service. “After a player finish raising their racket head backwards any delay is undue delay of serve. Also, rules 9.1.7 and 9.2 tell us that, once a player begins to swing his/her racket forward, the service is deemed to have begun and the racket must continue moving forward in a continuous motion until the serving action is completed, otherwise a fault will be called-for non-continuous movement. When undue delays occur the service judge will swing their right arm to the left to indicate that a player has been penalized for undue delay. Feet on the service line or off the ground  According to rule 9.1.2, the server and the player receiving the serve should stand in the diagonally opposite service courts and must not tread on the service court boundary line. Rule 9.1.3 points out that both of the server and receiver’s feet must at least be partially touching the ground and should remain fixed in place from when the serve begins to when the action is completed. When the aforementioned breaches occur the service judge will stretch out their right leg and signal a fault with their right hand because a player’s feet were off the ground or they were on the boundary line. Server fails to hit the bottom of the shuttlecock According to rule 9.1.4, a player’s racket face should hit the bottom of the shuttlecock. If a player fails to hit the bottom of the shuttlecock when serving, the line judge will open their right hand and lightly touch the palm with their left hand to indicate a service fault. Service too high According to rule 9.1.5, when the server’s racket hits the shuttlecock the entire racket should be below waist-height (an imaginary line across the lowest rib of a player) therefore, if the racket is too high when the serve is made, the service judge will place their right hand horizontally across their ribs. Racket handle should not face up Rule 9.1.6 states that when a serve is made the racket handle must be facing down at the moment the shuttlecock is hit. If the racket handle is facing up when the shuttlecock is hit the service judge will lift up their open hand with palm facing out to indicate a fault due to the racket handle facing up. Line Judge Hand Signals As well as the service judge there are also line judges for the back lines and side lines. A line judge should be seated 2.5-3.5m from the line and judges whether a shuttlecock lands “in” or “out”, deciding whether a player has scored a point. The shuttlecock lands out the line If the shuttlecock lands out of bounds the line judge must loudly and quickly shout “Out” so that both players and spectators hear and will stretch their arms out to the side level with each other while looking at the umpire with a fixed stare to ensure the umpire is clear about the decision. The shuttlecock lands inside the line If the shuttlecock lands inside the line, no announcement is needed, the line judge will just point their right hand at the line. If the line judge does not see If the line judge can’t see the shuttlecock clearly (because their view is blocked by a player’s body or other unavoidable situation), as they were unable to see whether the shuttlecock landed in or out they should cover the eyes with their hands to let the umpire know. Umpire Hand Signals The Yellow card in Badminton We will start off with the least significant card in badminton, the Yellow card. This card can be given to any player as a warning for misconduct (in-game faults are not misconduct). As the Umpires are allowed to talk to players they very often give them multiple verbal cautions before they give a yellow card. This is likely to be a repeat offense that a player makes during a single match however an umpire can give a yellow card directly if they choose. The Yellow card really has no impact on the points of the game but does serve the purpose of deterring the player from continuing with the misconduct. Though it will not affect the match, in professional badminton, the player will be fined by the BWF. The Red card in Badminton A red card in badminton is given when a player makes a continued breach of misconduct or a significant breach of misconduct. This results in the offending side losing the active rally and the opponent receiving a point. The Umpire if they wish could caution again with a red card. The umpire has full authority to decide what is red card worthy during a match. The Black card in Badminton This is the real deal in badminton misconduct. A player will receive a black card for excessive misconduct. The black card will follow a red card for significant breaches of misconduct that bring the game into disrepute (behaviour that makes the sport look bad). What if the same player breaches a different rule? Even if the breach is different from the one they received the first yellow card for they will receive a red card for the second offense. What if the player didn’t know the rule? Unfortunately for them, this is not seen as an acceptable excuse. The umpire can still give the player the yellow card even without a caution first. So make sure to be nice and smile at your next umpire! Misconducts in Badminton Delaying the game to receive coaching. Delaying the game to recover. Purposefully delaying the game to disrupt the opponent. (Normally when serving or receiving service) Leaving the court during games without the permission of the umpire. Tampering with the shuttle in any way. Making any gesture towards an opponent. (Clenching a fist toward the opponent is commonly a breach) Celebrating too much is included in unsportsmanlike conduct! Purposefully breaking a racket. Throwing a racket in any direction. Intimidating an umpire, service judge, line judge or referee. Shouting during points is considered an attempt to distract your opponent, especially calls of in or out. Actions interfering with your opponent’s ability to continue a rally such as reaching over or under the net. Contaminating the playing surface with sweat or similar actions. A mobile phone being present or going off at the courtside. There is no mention of misconduct for deliberate or unusual playing patterns. BASIC SKILLS Gripping Stance/Ready Position Serving Stroke Footwork Gripping In badminton, a grip is a way of holding the racket in order to hit shots during a match. The most commonly used grip is the orthodox forehand grip. Most players change grips during a rally depending on whether it is a forehand or backhand shot. Forehand The easiest way to learn the forehand grip is to pretend you are shaking someone’s hand. As you can see from the photo, you want to have this ‘V Shape’, and have a little space between your index finger and middle fingers. Your fingers should be loosely around the grip, and this is important for all 4 grips. If you are gripping the racket too tightly, then it becomes much more difficult to quickly change between grips when necessary in the middle of a rally. A tight grip will also limit your ability to generate control and power in your shots. The forehand grip is used for: Forehand clears, smashes and drops Forehand drives Forehand lifts Forehand net shots Backhand The easiest way to learn the backhand grip is to set up with your thumb on top of the wider section of the grip, with your strings facing the floor & ceiling like in the photo below. Your fingers should be relaxed around the side. The backhand grip is used for: Backhand drives Backhand lifts Backhand net shots Backhand serves Doubles defense Bevel To learn the bevel grip you can start in a backhand grip and move your racket head round so that your strings are now facing diagonally, and your thumb is on the ridge / bevel. You would move the racket anti-clockwise from your backhand grip if you are right handed, and clockwise from this position if you are left handed. The bevel grip is used for: Backhand rear-court shots (clears, drops and smashes). Some forehand and backhand net shots (depending on your positioning). Some singles defence if you are really stretched. Panhandle The panhandle grip is where you have the thumb on the side of the racket, pinching the sides with your thumb and fingers in the position shown below. The panhandle grip is the one that actually comes most naturally to beginners because it’s easy to hit overhead shots with – but contrary to what many players use this for, the panhandle grip is used for: Late backhand rear-court shots. Retrieving a net-cord on the backhand side. Some net kills or drives depending on your position and preference. Strokes Overhead forehand – the most common we see, the first to learn Overhead backhand – many people’s main weakness Underarm forehand – a low shot on the forehand side Underarm backhand – a low shot on the backhand side