Badminton is one of the few games after cricket which is played with same excitement and enthusiasm at every corner of the country. While the game is generally played with a Badminton racquet and a shuttle cock in a lawn or a court, people across the world enjoys it at any given space which they find appropriate to make the game enjoyable.
History and Background
Badminton was first played in 1873 at a place named Badminton, which used to be the country estate of the dukes of Beaufort in Gloucestershire, England and went on to be known by this name only. Moreover, many people believe that the game got its origins in Ancient Greece and India when British army officers used to play with the Woolen balls instead of the shuttle cocks with Racquets. Its been said that the game was first played under the rules at the city of Pune in 1873 and that’s why it was initially been called with the name “Poona “.
For the next few decades, the game has seen a different set of rules every time it gets played by Expatriates or the common people but it was only in 1934 when England, Scotland, Wales, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand came on board to form the International Badminton Federation in 1934, which is now famous with its new name Badminton World Federation. As far as Indian Participation in the same is concerned, The country registered as an affiliate in 1936.
As of now, BWF is the largest Governing authority in the world for Badminton and takes care of all its events and rules across the globe. Though the game was said to be originated in England Initially, It was Denmark which has proved its domination in the sport since many years amongst the major European countries. Moreover, most of the Asian countries like China, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea are some of the countries which have ruled the game apart from Denmark and its mostly the Chinese players which have made their mark in most of the World championships in both Men and Women categories.
Famous Badminton Tournaments around the World
If we talk about the Major Badminton Tournaments across the globe , then The All England Open Badminton Championships can certainly be considered as one of the most important and esteemed events in Badminton history. Its worth mentioning here that the Tournament was First organized in 1899 and was only being played in the Doubles version for the first year and opened later towards the Singles event the very next year.
Another Famous Tournament , The Thomas Cup was first held in 1949 and while it was given huge importance and official status by the World badminton federation member countries, the other major Tournament All England championship was deemed Unofficial at the same time.
The tournament has been halted only twice in the wake of the World wars and since its existence over the past few decades its still holds the tag of top most tournaments in World badminton even now. The Thomas cup is the Men’s version and the tournament holds major importance while ascertaining the rankings of the world best Badminton players.
While Thomas cup is about the Men, The Uber cup is for the Women and though it used to be held in every three years initially, the Interval then got contracted tio two years in 1984.The Tournament was originated in 1956 and was named after the famous Badminton player Betty Uber who has, by that time, won 13 titles in the All England Championships. She is also one of the few players to be inducted in the Badminton Hall of fame. As of now, China has won the title most of the times with 6 Uber cup victories under their name.
Moreover, it’s The WBF Super Series Masters which is the amalgamation of all the major badminton tournaments within a year like The All England Open, The Denmark Open, The China Open, The China Masters, The Indonesia Open, The Japan Open, the Swiss Open, The Hong Cong Open, The Malaysia Open, The Korea Open, The French Open, and the Singapore Open.
Also Check : Badminton Court Dimensions
Major Badminton Tournaments in India
Indian as a country has produced some of the big names in the World Badminton like Prakash Padukone, Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, K Srikkanth and many others which are a result of the strong Badminton upbringing at the root levels of the country. Let’s take a look at some of the major tournaments which gets held in India to get the best Badminton talent on board.
All India Inter Institutional Badminton Tournament
The all India Inter Institutional Badminton Tournament is one of the biggest Domestic Badminton events which gets held every year and witness some fo the finest young players coming from various teams in the country like Reserve Bank of India, LIC of India, BSNL Sports Board, Airports Authority of India, Food Corporation of India, Ordinance Factory Sports Control Board, Department of Atomic Energy, Air Force Sports Control Board and Employees State Insurance Corporation .The Tournament gets played in both Singles , Doubles and Women Categories every year.
Sub Junior Indian National Badminton Championships
The Sub Junior National Badminton Championships is also one of the big tournaments which is organized on an annual basis. The latest edition of the tournament which is going to be held in 2018 will get played under two main categories- U13 and U15. The Championship would witness both Girls and Boys Edition in both Singles and Doubles category.
Also Check : Top 7 Best Indian Badminton Players of all Time
Junior Indian National Badminton Championships
The Junior National Badminton Championships is one of the other major important tournaments which also get held on an annual basis in the country. It was just recently when the 42nd edition of the tournament was organized in the city of Guwahati, Assam under the two main categories- U17 and U19. This competition is also open for both Girls and Boys in both Doubles and Singles category. However, the Mixed doubles edition is open for the U19 category only.
Indian National Badminton Championships
This is one of the biggest and oldest Domestic Indian Badminton championships which was initially started in 1936 and used to be an Open Championship until 1960. Moreover, one of the Indian Badminton Legends Prakash Padukone, currently holds the record number of Titles for this championship under his name. This event also gets held on an annual basis and gets played in Both Men and Women category while including the Doubles category as well in the Championship..