Badminton has a surprisingly long history given its relatively recent introduction onto the Olympic scene. Badminton was invented long ago; its origins date back at least two thousand years to the game of battledore and shuttlecock played in ancient Greece, India and China. Badminton took its name from Badminton House in Gloucestershire, the home of the Duke of Beaufort, where the sport was played in the last century. By coincidence, Gloucestershire is now the base for the International Badminton Federation. Membership of the Federation has grown from the nine founding members in 1934 to 147 member associations in 2001.

Badminton is particularly popular in Asia where it is regarded as the national sport in countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia. Crowds of up to 18,000 people have been recorded at top events there. In China, it is the most-played sport with 13% of the population playing the game (information researched by Sponsorship Research International). Globally it is estimated that over 200 million people play badminton on a regular basis.

Jesper Larsen/Jens Eriksen of Denmark

Top level badminton is a game of speed, tactics and agility. It is the world's fastest racket sport with England's Simon Archer featuring in the Guinness Book of Records with a smash recorded at 162 miles per hour! It should come as no surprise the to learn that badminton players are some of the fittest athletes in the world.

But don't let that put you off - badminton is also a sport that everyone can play, regardless of age or ability. For information on places to play locally contact the following associations:

England enquiries@baofe.co.uk
Ireland bui@iol.ie
Scotland enquiries@scotbadminton.demon.co.uk
Wales wbu@btclick.com

www.worldbadminton.net