Badminton

History                                                                       

In the 5th century BC, the people in china then played a game called ti jian zi. A direct translation from this word ‘ti jian zi’ is kicking the shuttle. As the name suggest, the objective of the game is to keep the shuttle from hitting the ground without using hand. Whether this sport has anything to do with the History of Badminton is up for debate. It was however the first game that uses a Shuttle.

About five centuries later, a game named Battledore and Shuttlecock was played in china, Japan, India and Greece. This is a game where you use the Battledore (a paddle) to hit the Shuttlecock back and forth. By the 16th century, it has become a popular game among children in England. In Europe this game was known as jeu de volant to them. In the 1860s, a game named Poona was played in India as it was particularly popular in the British garrison town Poona (now Pune). This game is much like the Battledore and Shuttlecock but with an added net. The British army learned this game in India and took the equipments back to England during the 1870s. The sport is related to ball badminton, which originated in Tamil Nadu, and is similar to Hanetsuki which originated in Japan. Ball badminton was played mainly by upper classes in windy or wet conditions using a ball of wool. Hanetsuki used to be played specially by girls with a rectangular wooden paddle called hagoita and a brightly colored shuttlecock.

In 1873, the Duke of Beaufort held a lawn party in his country place, Badminton. A game of Poona was played on that day and became popular among the British society’s elite. The new party sport became known as “the Badminton game”.

International Associations

In 1877, the Bath Badminton Club was formed and developed the first official set of rules.

Then in 1893, a new group, the Badminton Association of England took over and revised the rules even more, bringing them to what is still in place today.

The International Badminton Federation (IBF) was formed in 1934 with 9 founding members, namely England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Denmark, Holland, Canada, New Zealand and France.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the world governing body for the sport of badminton. The BWF is empowered by the IOC and the BWF’s 177 Members to govern the sport of badminton worldwide.

International Tournaments

All England Open Badminton Championships, the first badminton competition in the world, in 1899.

As for formal competitions, the 1948-1949 season was the first for male players. The award for this tournament is the Thomas cup, named for IBF president Sir George A. Thomas.

1956-1957 marked the first official season for female players. Their award is known as the Uber Cup, named after Mrs. H.S. Uber of England, who made the donation for the trophy. Both tournaments are still played every two years.

The primary world tournament for badminton is the BWF World Championships, run by the Badminton World Federation. Originally held every three years starting in 1977, it is now held annually, except in Olympic years. The BWF World Championships are contested in five fields: Men’s Singles and Doubles, Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Mixed Doubles.

Sudirman Cup was introduced in 1989, contested every two years.

Badminton was introduced as a Commonwealth Games program sport in Kingston Jamaica in 1966 and has been part of every Commonwealth Games program since then.

Olympic History

After being a demonstration sport in Munich in 1972, Badminton was officially granted Olympic status in the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Archery

Ancient touch

Archery, one of the oldest sports still practiced, is closely linked to the development of civilisation. As a cultural advance, it was comparable to the discovery of fire and the invention of the wheel. The bow seems to have been invented by the late Paleolithic or early Mesolithic. The oldest bows known so far come from the Holmegård swamp in Denmark.

The last recorded use of bows in battle in Britain seems to have been a skirmish at Bridgnorth; in October 1642, during the English Civil War, an impromptu militia was effective against un-armoured musketmen. The most recent death in war from British archery was probably in 1940, on the retreat to Dunkirk.

The discovery of the first stone arrowheads in Africa tends to indicate that the bow and arrow were invented there, maybe as early as 50,000 BC. 2800 BC, the first composite bow was produced by the Egyptians. It was made from wood, tipped with animal horn and held together with animal sinew and glue. Unstrung, it resembled a “C” shape and would have required 2 people to string it.

Archery as sports

Archery was the favorite sport of the Egyptian pharaohs during the 18th dynasty (1567-1320 BC). Many centuries later, some of the earliest recorded archery tournaments took place during the Zhou (Chou) dynasty (1027- 256 BC) in China. Such events were attended by Chinese nobility. The archery tournament known as the ‘Ancient Scorton Arrow’ in 1673 AD was founded in Yorkshire, England. Which is the oldest archery tournament still held today.

Olympic movement

Archery first appeared in the Olympic Games in 1900, was contested again in 1904, 1908 and 1920, then again, after an absence of 52 years, from 1972 to the present. The most decorated archer in Olympic history is Hubert Van Innis of Belgium who competed in 1900 and 1920, winning six gold and three silver medals.

Modern Olympics

With the Renaissance, Europe began a long fascination with ancient Greek culture, and in the 18th and 19th centuries some nations staged informal sporting and folkloric festivals bearing the name “Olympic Games.” However, it was not until 1892 that a young French baron, Pierre de Coubertin, seriously proposed reviving the Olympics as a major international competition that would occur every four years. At a conference on international sport in Paris in June 1894, Coubertin again raised the idea, and the 79 delegates from nine countries unanimously approved his proposal. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was formed, and the first Games were planned for 1896 in Athens, the capital of Greece.

On April 6, 1896, the Olympic Games, a long-lost tradition of ancient Greece, are reborn in Athens 1,500 years after being banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I.

In Athens, 280 participants from 13 nations competed in 43 events, covering track-and-field, swimming, gymnastics, cycling, wrestling, weightlifting, fencing, shooting, and tennis. All the competitors were men, and a few of the entrants were tourists who stumbled upon the Games and were allowed to sign up. The track-and-field events were held at the Panathenaic Stadium, which was originally built in 330 B.C. and restored for the 1896 Games. Americans won nine out of 12 of these events. The 1896 Olympics also featured the first marathon competition, which followed the 25-mile route run by a Greek soldier who brought news of a victory over the Persians from Marathon to Athens in 490 B.C. In 1924, the marathon was standardized at 26 miles and 385 yards. Appropriately, a Greek, Spyridon Louis, won the first marathon at the 1896 Athens Games.

Pierre de Coubertin became IOC president in 1896 and guided the Olympic Games through its difficult early years, when it lacked much popular support and was overshadowed by world’s fairs. In 1924, the first truly successful Olympic Games were held in Paris, involving more than 3,000 athletes, including more than 100 women, from 44 nations. The first Winter Olympic Games were also held that year. In 1925, Coubertin retired. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the foremost international sports competition. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, more than 10,000 athletes from 200 countries competed, including nearly 4,000 women. In 2004, the Summer Olympics returned to Athens, with more than 11,000 athletes competing from 202 countries. In a proud moment for Greeks and an exciting one for spectators, the shotput competition was held at the site of the classical Games in Olympia.

Ancient Olympics

According to historical records, the first ancient Olympic Games can be traced back to 776 BC. They were dedicated to the Olympian gods and were staged on the ancient plains of Olympia. They continued for nearly 12 centuries, until Emperor Theodosius decreed in 393 A.D. that all such “pagan cults” be banned.
The oldest myth which concerns the beginning of the Olympic Games is that of Idaios Daktylos Herakles. According to other myths, Zeus, the father of humanity, fought and defeated Cronus in a struggle for the throne of the gods. Finally, the well-known demigod Herakles is mentioned. He staged games in Olympia in honour of Zeus, because the latter had helped him conquer Elis when he went to war against Augeas.

Olympia

Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games, is in the western part of the Peloponnese which, according to Greek mythology, is the island of “Pelops”, the founder of the Olympic Games. Imposing temples, votive buildings, elaborate shrines and ancient sporting facilities were combined in a site of unique natural and mystical beauty. Olympia functioned as a meeting place for worship and other religious and political practices as early as the 10th century B.C. The central part of Olympia was dominated by the majestic temple of Zeus, with the temple of Hera parallel to it.

Olympic Gods

Zeus was considered the most important of all the Olympic gods. He was originally worshipped as a god of meteorological change. He quickly became the god of fertility however, and was worshipped as Zeus the “infernal” (hthonios) or “farmer” (georgos). As Zeus the possessor (ktisios), he offered a good harvest; as Zeus the father (pater), he protected the family and all who lived nearby.

Hera was the sister and wife of Zeus and was worshipped all over Greece, but especially in the region of Argos. She was thus also called “Argeia”. The epithets “perfect”, “balanced” and “wedded” were used to describe her because she was considered the protector of marriage and the marital bond. Homer depicts Hera in her dual capacity as the most important female deity, but also the official spouse of the father of the gods.
The ancient Greeks believed that Athena was miraculously born out of the head of Zeus. She was first worshipped in the palaces of the Achaean rulers in the Pre-Hellenistic period. In Homer’s work, she is depicted as a warrior goddess wearing full armour from the prehistoric era. She was as important as Aris, the god of war, and favoured the prudent outcome of confrontations.
Apollo was the god of moral order and music, but his main capacity was to protect the art of divination. This is revealed by the plethora of oracles in various regions of Greece, the most famous being the oracle of Delphi, in Fokis. Apollo is also seen as a pastoral god, protecting his flock from the wolves. He was worshipped by the farmers as the god of the harvest. From Antiquity onwards, he had the reputation of a god of healing.

Events

The ancient Olympic Games were initially a one-day event until 684 BC, when they were extended to three days. In the 5th century B.C., the Games were extended again to cover five days.
The ancient Games included running, long jump, shot put, javelin, boxing, pankration and equestrian events.

Pentathlon
The Pentathlon became an Olympic sport with the addition of wrestling in 708 B.C., and included the following:
Running / Jumping / Discus Throw
Running

Running contests included:
• the stade race, which was the pre-eminent test of speed, covering the Olympia track from one end to the other (200m foot race),
• the diaulos (two stades – 400m foot race),
• dolichos (ranging between 7 and 24 stades)

Jumping
Athletes used stone or lead weights called halteres to increase the distance of a jump. They held onto the weights until the end of their flight, and then jettisoned them backwards.

Discus throw
The discus was originally made of stone and later of iron, lead or bronze. The technique was very similar to today’s freestyle discus throw.

Wrestling

This was highly valued as a form of military exercise without weapons. It ended only when one of the contestants admitted defeat.

Boxing

Boxers wrapped straps (himantes) around their hands to strengthen their wrists and steady their fingers. Initially, these straps were soft but, as time progressed, boxers started using hard leather straps, often causing disfigurement of their opponent’s face.

Pankration
This was a primitive form of martial art combining wrestling and boxing, and was considered to be one of the toughest sports. Greeks believed that it was founded by Theseus when he defeated the fierce Minotaur in the labyrinth.

Equestrian events
These included horse races and chariot races and took place in the Hippodrome, a wide, flat, open space.

Participants

All free male Greek citizens were entitled to participate in the ancient Olympic Games, regardless of their social status. Orsippos, a general from Megara; Polymnistor, a shepherd; Diagoras, a member of a royal family from Rhodes; Alexander I, son of Amyndas and King of Macedonia; and Democritus, a philosopher, were all participants in the Games.
Married women were not allowed to participate in, or to watch, the ancient Olympic Games. However, unmarried women could attend the competition, and the priestess of Demeter, goddess of fertility, was given a privileged position next to the Stadium altar.
It is worth mentioning some of legendary athletes such as Nurmi, Zatopek or Lewis. Among others Astylos of Croton (480-480 BC); Milon, a pupil of the philosopher Pythagoras the athelete (512 BC); Leonidas of Rhodes the runner(164-152 BC); Melankomas of Caria the boxer (49BC); Kyniska of Sparta (396-392 BC), was the first woman to be listed as an Olympic victor in Antiquity.

Victory Ceremonies

The Olympic victor received his first awards immediately after the competition. Following the announcement of the winner’s name by the herald, a Hellanodikis (Greek judge) would place a palm branch in his hands, while the spectators cheered and threw flowers to him. Red ribbons were tied on his head and hands as a mark of victory.
The official award ceremony would take place on the last day of the Games, at the elevated vestibule of the temple of Zeus. In a loud voice, the herald would announce the name of the Olympic winner, his father’s name, and his homeland. Then, the Hellanodikis placed the sacred olive tree wreath, or kotinos, on the winner’s head.