Animal gut was used to make the badminton racket strings
Did you know that Badminton is one of the most played sports in the world? The sport is massive in Asia, particularly in China and Chinese communities around the world.
is all about performing fast and quick moves on the court, which makes it one of the fastest racket sports in the world.
Although you must also have the right gear and equipment to help you drastically enhance your game and skills. And like every other sport, badminton also has some amazing facts that will shock you.
So, let’s begin with:
Second most popular sport in the world
Every one of you might know that football is the most popular sport in the world. But do you know which is the second most popular sport after football?
The sport is played regularly by an estimated 220 million people around the world and over 100 million people in China play regularly. It is also particularly popular in East Asian countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea, with many of the best players ever hailing from the continent.
Rather than this, when this sport was first introduced at the Olympics in 1992, approximately 1.1 billion people watched the competition on television.
Badminton was invented in India
Badminton has a long history, the roots of the sport can be traced to ancient Greece, China, and India, one of it’s former names was “Battledore and Shuttlecock.”
Later, the sport was played in Pune, India, and renamed named “Poona,” In the 1860s, this was played by British officers stationed in India.
Then in 1973, the game was brought to England by the Duke of Beaufort at his country estate, “Badminton House” in Gloucestershire, since then this sport was called Badminton. In 1875, a badminton club was started by in in Folkestone, England by retired officers from British India.
The Asian domination of the sport
Badminton was officially introduced to Olympics in 1992, and since then, Asian players have won an incredible 93 Olympic medals out of 103. And Asian countries like China and Indonesia are the top badminton countries worldwide, winning 70% of the BWF events and championships.
Coming to the Tomas cup, the Men’s world team Championship, then to date, it has been won by only three Asian countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, and China. Whereas Uber Cup, the women’s world team championship, is commonly won by Asian countries, including China, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea.
And the USA is the only non-Asian country to win Uber Cup in 1957, 1960, and 1963.
Animal gut was used to make the badminton racket strings
Years ago, when synthetic fibers were not introduced in the market, people used animal gut (a thin, tough cord made from the intestines of animals, usually sheep, cats, or pigs) as racket strings. These strings are used to provide better repulsion and stability than synthetic strings.
A feather shuttlecock is made from the left wing of a goose
Shuttlecocks are made up of different materials, and you will see different types available in the market. But do you know how a feather shuttlecock is made?
Let me explain it to you. Feather shuttlecocks are usually made up of left-wing goose feathers, which are embedded around a cork or rubber base. It provides better aerodynamics, as the left-wing spins clockwise, whereas the right-wing spins counterclockwise.
Therefore, for a stable shuttlecock flight, the manufacturers use only feathers from the goose’s left wing.
Badminton is a lot more intense sport compared to tennis
Usually, tennis matches last longer than badminton matches. Still, one badminton match is much more intense than a tennis match because the match intensity, no of rallies, no. of shots, shots per rally, and distance covered are statistically higher in a game of badminton.
Badminton was initially played with the feet
Ti Zan Ji, the forerunner of badminton, originated in China. To play this sport, players use their feet instead of a racket to hit the shuttlecock, which is slightly different from the normal shuttlecock.
Interestingly, this sport is still played in some parts of China.
The longest and the shortest badminton match
You will be shocked when you know that the shortest badminton match was held in Hong Kong in the 1996 Uber Cup. It only lasted for six minutes, when a South Korean player Ra-Kyung-min defeated an England player, Julia Mann.
And on the other hand, the longest match in history was recorded during the semi-final at the 2016 Asian Championships. The game lasted for approx (161 minutes), 2 hours, and 41 minutes.
Final Words
So, these were some interesting facts about the fastest and an intense racket sport, ‘badminton,’ and I hope you enjoyed reading them.
