Badminton is an old and historic game that was played as early as 500 B.C in ancient China. In the early days, the game had no rackets, and instead the players would use their feet to hit the ball similar to the shuttlecock. They also did not use a net...really it did not resemble modern day badminton, but it is the beginning. By 0 A.D, they introduced a simple racket that resembled a modern day bat, and they would hit the shuttlecock back and forth as many times as possible.
Fast forward to the 16th century, and badminton had become known in Europe and was played by children. In the 17th century, the game gained popularity, and was played among the upper class society. In the 19th century, English officers stationed in India learned about a game called Poon. The game is similar to badminton. The officers learned the basic rules and brought the game back to England. In England, they established a Badminton estate, where badminton was played with rackets, the shuttlecock, and a net.
Shortly after, the Bath Badminton Club was originated and they laid down the current rules of badminton. This is also where the name "badminton" came about. After this initial club was formed, many clubs formed around England and the first national badminton association was formed.
Soon after, with many clubs participating in badminton, tournaments evolved and badminton become more competitive in nature. The first ever badminton tournament occurred at the end of the century in 1899. The first champion, Kitty Godfree, soon became a badminton star, and won three championships in the start of the 20th century.
The increasing popularity in England led to an increasing popularity of badminton around the world and in 1934, the International Badminton Federation was formed. The initial countries within the federation were, England, Wales, Scotland, Holland, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and France.
In the 20th century, badminton grew around the world and was eventually brought to the Olympics where people would compete on the international level.
That is the Origin of Badminton
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