FREE ESSAY ON BADMINTON

BADMINTON

Badminton is a court or lawn game played with lightweight rackets and a shuttlecock, a
small, cork hemisphere with 14 to 16 feathers attached and weighing about 80 grains
(0.17-ounce [5 g]). A nylon shuttlecock with the apron furnished by feathers is also
used. The game is named for Badminton, the country estate of the dukes of Beaufort in
Gloucestershire, England, where it was first played in about 1873. It may have started
much earlier in India. In the 1860s British army officers stationed there reportedly
played the game out of doors and called it poona. Ultimately, badminton derives from an
old children's game, battledore and shuttlecock. The first unofficial All-England
badminton championships for men were held in 1899, and the first badminton tournament for
women was arranged the next year. 
The International Badminton Federation (IBF), world governing body of the sport, was
formed in 1934. Its headquarters are in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Eng. Badminton is
also popular in Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, and Denmark. A number of regional, national,
and zonal badminton tournaments are held in several countries. The best known of these
matches is the All-England Championships. Other well-known international tournaments
include the Thomas Cup (donated 1939) for men's team competition and the Uber Cup
(donated 1956) for women's team competition. 
Badminton first appeared in the Olympic Games as a demonstration sport in 1972 and as an
exhibition sport in 1988. At the 1992 Games it became a full-medal Olympic sport, with
competition for men's and women's singles (one against one) and doubles (two against
two). Mixed doubles was introduced at the 1996 Games. 
Badminton is usually played indoors because even light winds affect the course of the
shuttlecock. The rectangular court is 44 feet (13.4 meters) long and 17 feet wide for
singles, 20 feet wide for doubles. A net 5 feet high stretches across the width of the
court at its center. A clear space of 4 feet around the court is needed. Play consists
entirely of volleying--hitting the shuttlecock back and forth across the net without
letting it touch the floor or ground within the boundaries of the court.