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Badminton

Olympic badminton is considerably different from the backyard game that Americans play for recreation. It’s the world’s second fastest racket sport (with jai alai coming in first). Instead of a ball, the game is played with a shuttlecock, a cork ball fitted with stabilizing feathers, which is also known as a “cock” or “bird.” This bird can be propelled over the net at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour.

Badminton debuted as a full-medal sport at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Spain.

Badminton is a game that somewhat resembles tennis. It can be played by two or four players, either indoors or outdoors. A net is stretched across the middle of the court with the top edge 1.524 meters from the ground at the center and 1.55 meters at the posts. The players hit the shuttlecock back and forth over the net with lightweight rackets.

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Scoring
For each game, badminton scoring begins at 0-0 (called “loveall”) and 15 points wins a game. One point is scored if the serving side wins a rally. They then get to serve from the alternate service court. If the receiving side wins the rally, the score does not change. The service goes to the next player in turn.

In singles, the service goes to the opponent. In doubles, it is the partner who gets the next serve. However, if both doubles partners have just taken turns serving, then the service goes to one of their opponents.

If the score is 14-14, the side that reached 14 points first can choose to play to 15 points, or they can “set” the game to 17 points. The final score is the sum of the points won before “setting,” plus the points won during “setting.”

In women’s singles, 11 points wins a game. If the score reaches 10-10, the game can be “set” to 13 points.

Competition
There are competitions for both singles and doubles in which men and women compete separately. However, starting at Atlanta in 1996, mixed doubles were played. All matches are played the best two out of three games.

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Portions of the above text were excerpted from Share the Olympic Dream--Volume II.
© 2001 by Griffin Publishing Group/United States Olympic Committee.

For information on purchasing Griffin materials, please visit the Griffin Publishing Group Web site at http://www.griffinpublishing.com.

 

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