Racket sports
Badminton
Badminton combines explosive overhead power with delicate net play and rapid recovery to a central base. The shuttle's steep deceleration makes disguise, timing, and court positioning especially important.
At a glance
- The modern name is linked to the Duke of Beaufort's Badminton estate.
- The source connects the game to the Indian pastime Poona.
- International play uses rally scoring.
Player profile. Requires speed, repeated jumping power, shoulder mobility, reaction time, cardiovascular capacity, and fine racket control. Repeated lunges, overhead rotations, and quick returns to base place unusual demands on the ankles, hips, and shoulder. Disguise matters because the same preparation can become a clear, drop, or smash.
Where it happens
A court is 13.4 m long; doubles width is 6.1 m and singles width 5.18 m. The net is about 1.55 m high at the posts. The high net and feathered shuttle allow both steep attacks and extremely short replies near the tape.
- A court is 13.4 m long; doubles width is 6.1 m and singles width 5.18 m. The net is about 1.55 m high at the posts. The high net and feathered shuttle allow both steep attacks and extremely short replies near the tape.
What you need
- lightweight racket
- feather or synthetic shuttlecock
- nonmarking shoes
- marked court and net
How to play
- Serve diagonally underhand into the correct service court.
- Strike the shuttle before it touches the floor.
- Move the opponent with clears, drops, drives, and smashes.
- Win rallies to reach 21 points.
The essential rules
- The serve is delivered below the legal service height.
- Server and receiver stand in diagonally opposite service courts.
- Both feet retain contact with the floor during service.
- The serve begins on the right at an even score and left at an odd score.
- Every rally scores a point.
- A game normally goes to 21 with a two-point margin, capped at 30.
- A match is best of three games.
- Players change ends after each game and midway through a deciding game.
- A shuttle touching a boundary line is in.
- Touching the net or striking the shuttle twice is a fault.
How the result is decided
Rally scoring to 21; at 20-all a two-point margin is required until the 30-point cap, and matches are best of three. A rally always changes the total, and the serve side follows the server’s even or odd score. From 20-all, play continues until a two-point lead appears, except that the thirtieth point closes the game.
Fouls and penalties
- service above the legal height
- serve into wrong court
- shuttle out
- net touch
- double hit
- shuttle contacting body or clothing
Techniques
- high serve
- low serve
- clear
- drop
- smash
- drive
- net shot
- backhand return
Tactics
- recover toward the center
- change height and pace
- force a weak lift
- attack open space
- in doubles rotate between front and rear formations
Disciplines and variants
- singles
- doubles
- mixed doubles
Competition landscape
- Olympic badminton
- BWF World Championships
- Thomas Cup
- Uber Cup
Records in the reference
| Record | Value | Year |
|---|---|---|
| India Olympic medals through Paris 2024 (aggregate adult/open competition) | 3 total · 0 gold · 1 silver · 2 bronze | 2024 |
How the sport developed
The codified game grew in Britain from earlier shuttlecock games, including a form played in India. British officers adapted an Indian shuttle game known as Poona, and the estate that hosted early play supplied the modern name. Standard equipment and court markings later separated competition from older keep-it-up pastimes.
- The shuttle can leave the racket extremely fast but slows sharply in flight.
Play it in India
A dated public source documents an Indian federation, programme or centre for this sport. Current local intake, price and availability still require confirmation.
- Badminton Association of India is the current organisation reference; MYAS recognition is not established by the cited source. This does not establish local intake, price, schedule or availability.
- Organisation reference retained, but it was not present in KhelPath's 2025 MYAS recognition snapshot.
- Organisation reference
- Badminton Association of India
- Recognition state
- Not established by the current MYAS snapshot
- SAI NCOE discipline rows
- No matching centre row found
- Khelo India discipline
- Not established
- Olympic programme
- Current · since 1992
- India Olympic medals
- 3 · 0 gold · 1 silver · 2 bronze
Evidence and currency
This is an original KhelPath explainer assembled from editorial research. It is orientation, not an authoritative rulebook.
BWF statutes and regulations ↗ · observed 2026-08-28