Badminton

Badminton is believed to have evolved from a racquet game called "Poona" that British officers played in India in the mid-19th Century. Badminton was introduced to Canada by British troops in the late 19th Century. First played in an organized manner in Ottawa, the sport grew quickly in popularity. The Montreal Tennis and Badminton Club was formed in 1907 and the club held the first club championship in 1914. The Canadian Badminton Association was formed in 1921. Currently, according to Statistics Canada, over two million people play a form of recreational Badminton annually. There are approximately 85,000 people of all ages registered at organized Badminton clubs throughout Canada.

Badminton is the world’s fastest racket sport. The flight of the shuttlecock, a simple missile of cork and goose feather, has been recorded at speeds of 260 kilometres per hour. Players have been known to cover more than six kilometres in a single match.

There are five badminton events at the Olympic and Pan American Games: men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. A coin is tossed before the first game to determine who will serve first. A point is scored on every rally, with the winner of the rally serving to start the next rally. To score a point, badminton players hit the shuttlecock with their rackets in an attempt to make the shuttlecock land on their opponent’s court. Games are played to 21. The player or team that wins the best of three games takes the match.

Athletes

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  • dholt7

    dholt7 - 1 year, 1 month ago

    Congratulations Anna on your win at the US open. Dave H.

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  • Anita

    Anita - 1 year, 1 month ago

    Congratulations Anna. Keep up the good work. Badminton is an awesome sport.

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  • Britton

    Britton - 1 year, 1 month ago

    Great job Anna on your win in singles. We're proud of you.

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  • Peter

    Peter - 1 year, 1 month ago

    Good luck at the World's

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  • Scuby_tink

    Scuby_tink - 11 months ago

    It would be nice to have photos from all the athletes. It's hard to support people when you can't put a face to them.

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  • Janet

    Janet - 11 months ago

    I agree with Scuby_tink that it would be best to have photos for all the badminton Olympians. However it is great to have atheletes competing in ths sport that is enjoyed by so many. We'll be watching for you all!
    Badminton is smashing!

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  • DONNAS

    DONNAS - 10 months, 4 weeks ago

    Badminton Rocks

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  • Mary

    Mary - 10 months, 1 week ago

    Good Luck to all the team, make Canada proud!

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  • CindyB

    CindyB - 9 months, 1 week ago

    Yes, let's get all the athlete's photos posted.

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