Badminton is named after Badminton House, where it was first played in England in the 1850s.

Badminton is named after Badminton House, where the game was first played in England in the 1850s. However, badminton evolved from the ancient Chinese game of Ti Jian Zi, the first game to have used a shuttlecock. In a game of Ti Jian Zi, players used only their feet to stop the shuttlecock from touching the ground.

British children had played Battledore and Shuttlecock since medieval times, working together using Battledores (paddles) to keep the shuttle in the air. British soldiers in India modified this game into an adult competitive sport in the 19th century by introducing a net. The Bath Badminton Club published the first official set of rules in 1877 and the Badminton Association of England was formed 16 years later.

Badminton debuted as a demonstration sport at the 3rd Asian Games in Tokyo in 1958 and became a competitive event at the 4th Asian Games in Djakarta, Indonesia four years later.

Badminton featured as a demonstration sport at the Munich Olympics in 1972 and became an official Olympic sport at Barcelona in 1992.

Credit: Doha 2006

Please visit http://www.doha-2006.com/gis/menuroot/sports/Badminton.aspx for further information.