Beginner's Guide : 10 Rules of Badminton

The sport of badminton is supposed to have originated in Greece, about 2000 years ago.

From there it spread to other parts of Europe, Asia and the World. Today, it's a popular sport worldwide, both at amateur and professional levels. The following article contains the 10 rules of badminton and other regulations that you familiarize yourself with to play the sport.

Badminton is played with two single or two teams of two players each. It is a racquet sport. The rectangular court is divided into two halves with a net in the centre. Unlike other racquet games like squash or tennis badminton does not use a ball. It is played with a feathered projectile, which is called a shuttlecock.

Shuttlecocks characteristically are light weight and are thereby affected by the wind. Thus professional badminton is played indoors as even the slightest breeze can effect the direction of the shuttlecock. The 10 rules of badminton given below are valid for both professional and amateur badminton games.

The game involves the two opponents hitting the shuttlecock over the net into the other person's side. The rally ends when the shuttlecock touches the ground. Only one stroke is allowed to pass it over the net. One badminton match is made up of three games, of 21 points each. Professional badminton games are of five kinds: Men's singles, Men's doubles, Mixed doubles, Women's singles and Women's Doubles.

In a badminton match, the court size for a single's game is 44 feet long X 17 feet wide and for a doubles match it is 44 feet long X 20 feet wide. The height of the net is 5 feet.

The 10 rules of badminton are as follows:

1. A game starts with a coin toss. Whoever wins the toss gets to decide whether they would serve or receive first OR what side of the court they want to be on. The side losing the toss shall then exercise the remaining choice.

2. At no time during the game should the player touch the net, with his racquet or his body.

3. The shuttlecock should not be carried on or come to rest on the racquet.

4. A player should not reach over the net to hit the shuttlecock.

5. A serve must carry cross court (diagonally) to be valid.

6. During the serve, a player should not touch any of the lines of the court, until the server strikes the shuttlecock. During the serve the shuttlecock should always be hit from below the waist.

7. A point is added to a player's score as and when he wins a rally.

8. A player wins a rally when he strikes the shuttlecock and it touches the floor of the opponent's side of the court or when the opponent commits a fault. The most common type of fault is when a player fails to hit the shuttlecock over the net or it lands outside the boundary of the court.

9. Each side can strike the shuttlecock only once before it passes over the net. Once hit, a player can't strike the shuttlecock in a new movement or shot.

10. The shuttlecock hitting the ceiling, is counted as a fault.

Learning and inculcating the 10 rules of badminton is the first step towards getting into the game. Besides these, it's a good idea to get to know more about the equipment laws, which govern what equipments can be used - the design of the racquet, the weight and shape of the shuttlecock (for correct speed). Surprisingly there is no rule for the minimum height of the ceiling, but nevertheless, a low ceiling would be problematic.