What Are the Objectives of a Badminton Game?

Equipment

• The only equipment needed to play badminton (apart from the court and the netting) are rackets and a shuttlecock (usually more than one will be needed as they are susceptible to damage). The racket is very lightweight and long-handled, strung with flexible, tightly strung thin strings. The shuttlecock has a conical shape with 16 overlapping feathers embedded into a rubber knob, which is the part that is usually hit. Mostly synthetic feathers are used as they are cheaper and hardier.

Rules

• Badminton is played on an indoor rectangular court bifurcated by a net. It is played indoors, because the very lightweight shuttlecock is too susceptible to the wind for outdoor play. It is played between two single players as singles or between two teams of two players as doubles. The court is wider for doubles play, but the same length for both forms of the game. The court is divided into segments, with a service line about halfway up the court from which the server serves, and from the service line back to the baseline the court is halved into two serving zones into which the serve must land (if it's not returned).

Scoring

• In badminton the object of the game is to be the first player or team to win two games. A game is won when one player or team reaches 21 points,, or if the scores are tied 20-20 the game will play on until one side has won by two clear points (up to 29-29, when the next point will win). A point can be won regardless of which side served. A point can be won by successfully hitting the shuttlecock into the in-bounds court area and getting it to drop to the ground before your opponent can hit it. A point is also won if your opponent hits the shuttlecock out of bounds or hits the net and the shuttlecock drops out of bounds or into their side of the court.

Strategy

• The strategy of badminton revolves around playing a series of well-planned and executed shots to force your opponent to return a shot that is advantageous to your scoring a point. This may mean that you hit it so hard with a downward smash shot that they do not have time to prevent the shuttlecock hitting the ground or that they mis-hit it. Sometimes delicate drop shots that drop just over the net are employed to force your opponent to leave the baseline and rush to the net. To retrieve a drop shot they may have to return the shuttlecock at a high angle enabling you to position for a downward smash.