Badminton is a sports game with a shuttlecock and a racket. The game originated in ancient India, and got its modern name from the town of Badminton in England, where officers of the colonial troops who came from India began to cultivate it.
The first rules were drawn up in 1870 by the British. The International Badminton Federation was founded in 1934. At the Olympics, this sport was first presented in Munich in 1972, but only as demonstration performances. Only two decades later, badminton officially entered the Olympic program. Now at the Olympics, five sets of awards in badminton are played out - men's and women's performances in individual and doubles and competitions in a mixed category.
Badminton is one of the most physically demanding sports, players run about 10-12 km per match and lose several kilograms of weight. Also badminton is very difficult from a technical point of view. Professional athletes spend several years of intense training to master the entire technical arsenal.
Tournaments are held on a rectangular court, 13.4 mx 5, 18 m - for singles, 13.4 mx 6, 1 m - for doubles. The court is divided into two parts by a net, 155 cm high. Serving is made from the left or right zone, depending on the score. According to the rules, the serve is made from the bottom up, the shuttlecock should fly diagonally into the opponent's service zone. A player is considered the winner if the shuttle hits the opponent's court, as well as if the opponent threw the shuttle out of the field or noticeably touches the net with his racket.
Each match consists of 3 games, each played up to 21 points or until the advantage is 2 points. The winner must win 2 games. In the doubles meeting, the first side to score 15 points wins.
Russian badminton in the international arena has recently declared itself, which is associated with the late entry of the country into the world badminton community. The first serious achievements are associated with the outstanding player Andrei Antropov, who became the champion of the USSR and the Russian Federation more than 50 times. On the international arena, he won silver and bronze at the European Championships and 5th at the Olympic Games.
Currently, the world is dominated by Asian athletes - from China, Korea, Indonesia, who win up to 90% of the medals. They are followed by athletes from European countries - Denmark, Great Britain, Germany, Sweden.
