Badminton
Badminton is a popular sport that came about around the 1860s in India when it was under British rule. The game is more popular in Asia as a sport and more of a recreation sport in the United States.
However, there are many betting options for the sport at online sportsbooks around the world. Badminton is played either as singles (one against one) or doubles (two against two).
Online Badminton
As stated before, there are many betting options for badminton at the many online sportsbooks. There are many matches and betting markets for the fast and exciting game.
The game consists of a player or players with a badminton racquet hitting the badminton shuttlecock, also called the badminton birdie, over a badminton net.
The game is very fast-paced with a lot of action, and online, there is a lot of betting action available as well. The game is much like tennis as well, but with a shorter court, and the shuttlecock is not a ball, but an open conical shape made of rubber formed by synthetic feathers. Think of it as a cross between volleyball and tennis.
Rules and Gameplay
For a badminton game, there are two halves of the court with the badminton net in the middle. Typically, the courts are marked to show singles and doubles play, with the doubles play court being wider but the length being the same for both types of play.
The full width of the badminton court for singles play is 17 feet, while it is 20 feet for doubles play. The length of the badminton court is 44 feet, and the service courts have a center line dividing the width of six feet and six inches from the badminton net, which is five feet and one inch tall.
In doubles play, the service court has a long line, which is two feet and six inches from the back boundary.
The Badminton Serve
The server in the game has to stand behind the backline to serve, and the badminton shuttlecock has to go over the net and over the opponent's service line, or it is a fault. Both the server and the one receiving the serve on the opposite side of the badminton court have to stay in their service courts.
They cannot touch the boundary lines until the badminton shuttlecock is served. If the game is one with doubles, the other players can stand where they like but cannot get in the way of the sight of the server or receiver.
When the badminton rally starts, the service and the receiver are diagonal to each other, and the server hits the badminton shuttlecock into the receiver's service court. The badminton serve has to be below three feet and eight inches from the badminton court before the badminton shuttlecock is struck.
Like tennis, after the serve, the player or players hit the badminton shuttlecock over the net until the rally ends with the badminton shuttlecock going out of bounds, in the net, or hitting the ground.
If the serving side is the loser in a rally, their opponent or opponents will serve next. In singles, the serving player on the badminton court will be on the right service area when they have an even score, and the left on an odd score.
In badminton doubles, if the side that is serving wins the rally, the same player that just served will serve again but on the opposite service side of the court. If the opponent is the winner of the rally and their score is an even one, the player on the right side of the court has serve, while the left side player will serve if their team's score is odd.
Badminton Scoring
Every badminton game is to 21 points, and when a rally is done, a point is tallied. To win, you have to get to 21 points, but you have to win by two points. So, if the score is 20-20, you keep playing until a player or team wins by two points.
If the scoring continues to 29-29, the next point is called the "Golden Point," and the next point in the match wins.
A badminton match is the best of three games. At the beginning of the match, the badminton shuttlecock is tossed in the air, or there is a coin flip. If the player or team has the badminton shuttlecock pointed in their direction or they won the coin flip, they can choose to serve or receive.
The players or teams will switch sides after the first game, and if there is a third game, they will switch when the first reaches 11 points.
Strategy and Tactics
There are many badminton strategies and tactics, and it depends on if the game is singles or doubles. The main strategy in badminton is to put pressure on your opponent.
However, you can do so by doing such things like hitting to the corners, hitting to the middle, building shots, using deception, and playing aggressive or letting the opponent or opponents do so.
The strategy that is used in badminton will depend on the type of game played and the level it is played at. Obviously, there are more strategies and tactics for badminton at bigger matches where you can bet on them online as opposed to playing in your backyard.
History of Badminton
While the root of the sport of badminton can be traced to ancient India, China, and Greece, the modern game came about in the 1860s when the British army was stationed in India. The game is very close to the kid's game of battledore and shuttlecock, with the latter being the name still used for the "ball" in the game.
At the time of British rule in India in the 1860s, badminton was known as poona. The name badminton comes from the English country estate of the same name where the dukes of Beaufort in Gloucestershire resided, and the game was played in 1873.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) was formed in 1934, and the sport is most popular in the nations of Japan, Denmark, Malaysia, and Indonesia. You can find betting on badminton on many sportsbooks online in leagues and matches in those nations.
In 1977, the first BWF world championships were held, and some of the bigger badminton tournaments these days, with no lack of betting action, are the Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup.
In 1972, badminton had its first showing in the Olympics as a demonstration sport. In 1992, badminton became a full-fledged Olympic sport, with men's and women's singles and doubles, and in Atlanta in 1996, mixed doubles was added.
Badminton Wall of Fame
In the Badminton Wall of Fame, there is one GOAT (greatest player of all time), and that is Lin Dan from China. By the age of 28, he completed the Super Grand Slam, and his fans call him the Super Dwarf with his limited stature.
He has won numerous tournaments and is the only player to win the Olympic gold medal in badminton twice, doing so in the 2008 and 2012 Games.
Dan's main rival was Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, who won 27 international titles as well as winning the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Gao Ling is seen as the best women's badminton player of all time. She is also considered the best doubles player of all time with two Olympic medals to show for that.
Other players on the Wall of Fame for badminton include Tony Gunawan, Lee Chong Wei, Rudy Hartono, Morten Frost Hansen, and Li Lingwei.
Badminton in the U.S.
While badminton is not a major sport in the U.S. in terms of pro players and betting, over 1.3 million Americans play the game each year. There have been some notable American players in the sport, such as Ben Lee (1992 Olympian) and Beiwen Zhang, who has won over 250 international wins and moved to the U.S. in 2013 after she trained in Las Vegas.
Distinctive Elements
Badminton is a blend of speed, power, and quick reflexes to keep the badminton shuttlecock from hitting the ground on your side. Rallies can be fast and furious, and it is a very fun sport to watch at the highest levels.
That is why the sport is offered at some online sportsbooks for live betting with bets made on every point.
Badminton Statistics
Like any other sport, there are badminton statistics, and they can be very useful when betting on badminton. Much of the stats for badminton are like they are in tennis in unforced errors, winners, and serve percentage.
One unique thing about badminton is the air stream. Any major match or tournament is usually held in a big hall, and the air stream is key since the badminton shuttlecock is lightweight at five grams.
Popularity and Cultural Impact
Badminton is played the world over but is more popular at the highest levels in Asia and the Scandinavian countries. In America, it is more of a picnic and backyard game but is growing in popularity.
Badminton is also growing in popularity on the betting scene with many sportsbooks offering odds on matches and leagues.
