Beginner’s guide to simple rules

The absolute fundamentals

The goal of badminton is to strike the shuttle with your racket so it crosses the net and lands in your opponent’s half of the court. You’ve won a rally whenever you accomplish this; win enough rallies and you’ve won the match.

Your adversary has the same purpose as you. He’ll attempt to catch the shuttle and return it to your half of the court. You can also win rallies by capitalising on your opponent’s errors: if he hits the shuttle into, under, or out of bounds, you win the rally.

If you believe your opponent’s shot will go out, you should let it fall to the ground. If you choose to take the shuttle instead, the rally will continue.

The rally is over once the shuttle touches the ground. In this regard, badminton differs from tennis and squash in that the ball does not bounce.

Before the shuttle crosses the net, you can only strike it once (even in doubles). In this way, badminton differs from volleyball in that it allows numerous players to touch the ball before returning it over the net.

Badminton is a sport that is played indoors.

Some of you may have experienced badminton on the beach or in the yard. This is OK when you’re just playing for fun, but it doesn’t work when you want to compete.

Even the tiniest gust of wind can knock the spacecraft off course. That is why badminton is usually played indoors in competition.

Constructing a badminton court

Badminton has its own nets and posts, and the net is significantly lower than volleyball’s. Because the personnel is unfamiliar with badminton, a sports centre may set up the court with a slack volleyball net instead. Request a badminton net and adequate badminton posts.

Check three things if you need to set up the court yourself:

• The net stretches the entire length of the court.
  The net is taut and not slack.
  Because the net lies in the centre of the court, both parts of the court are the same size.

Because lines for other sports are also painted on the floor, it can be difficult to see the badminton court lines. Try to concentrate on the badminton court lines, which should all be the same colour.

Singles, doubles, and mixed doubles are all available.
On a badminton court, there might be two or four players: one player on each side, or a team of two players on each side. Singles are one-on-one matches, while doubles are two-on-two matches.

You don’t have to take turns hitting the shuttle in doubles; either player can do it. The first two shots of the rally are the only exceptions; I’ll explain why when we talk about serving.