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From
Party Game to Serious Sport
Nearly anyone can pick up a lightweight
badminton racket and hit the shuttlecock
over the net. Because it’s an
easy game for beginners, badminton
remains popular at picnics and parties.
But badminton is deceptive. It is
the fastest of all the racket sports.
A powerfully hit shuttle can travel
as fast as 200 miles per hour. At
the elite levels, the game requires
amazing speed, strategy, leaping ability,
power and quickness. A player can
run as much as a mile during a match.
As the best players
moved from the lawns and salons to
competitive courts, they naturally
wanted to compete against other top
athletes. The All-England Championships
gave them this opportunity. By 1938,
players from other countries began
to compete in this tournament. An
American woman, Judy Hashman, won
17 all All-England titles—the
most of any player in history.
More tournaments
and competitions became available
as the sport continued to attract
more competitive players. In 1939,
Sir George Thomas donated the Thomas
Cup, a trophy to be awarded at the
International Badminton Championship
for the top men’s singles players.
(Badminton can be played by men or
women in singles and doubles competition,
and by teams of mixed doubles.) Thomas
was a British lawn tennis champion
who switched to badminton and won
90 tournament titles over 24 years.
Thomas was also the first president
of the IBF.
In
1949, the Thomas Cup became a men’s
world team championship competition
much like the Davis Cup in tennis.
In 1956, the Uber Cup competition
was created for women. Betty Uber
of England, one of badminton’s
top doubles players, donated the
trophy. See a list of Thomas and
Uber Cup winners below. Initially,
the Davis and Uber Cup Competitions
were played every three years. Since
1982, international team championships
have been every two years—in
even-numbered years. In odd-numbered
years, individuals compete for international
honors. |
