How did badminton become an Olympic sport?
Most people before the Olympics use to play badminton in summer camps or as a backyard activity. However, the game was not introduced until late in the 19th century, but do you know how and when badminton was introduced in the Olympics?
First and foremost badminton game was demonstrated in the 1972 Olympic games in Munich. This game was introduced by the International Olympic Committee as a full-fledged sport at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
In the Initial introductory stage, only singles and doubles were played in both men’s and women’s categories. However, in the 1996 edition of the Atlanta Olympics, mixed doubles were included as an event. Very few countries have participated in badminton Olympic events and only 22 countries have at least one medal in the sport.
The game is mostly dominated by Asian countries; China has taken the maximum number of gold medals in the badminton sport with a total of 10 Olympic golds.
Today, badminton is featured in all the editions of the Olympics.
Way to the Olympic
In the early days, badminton was a game that was only played in England by upper-class people. It was not until 1873 that the game began to be played outside of England. The Duke of Beaufort introduced the game at his country estate in Gloucestershire, and from there it spread to other parts of Europe and then to America.
The game grew in popularity and in 1899, the first set of rules for badminton was drawn up. These rules were made by the Badminton Association of England, which is now known as the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
The international Badminton Federation was formed in 1934, and by 1936, badminton was being played at the Olympic Games in Berlin. However, it was only a demonstration sport and was not included as an official medal sport.
It wasn’t until 1992 that badminton was finally included as an official sport in the Olympic Games.
The sport has continued to grow in popularity and is now played by millions of people all over the world.
Barriers to Introduce Badminton Sport in Olympic
One of the main reasons why badminton was not included as an official sport in the Olympic Games earlier was because there was no international governing body for the sport.
It wasn’t until 1934 that the International Badminton Federation (now known as the Badminton World Federation) was formed. This was a big step in getting the sport recognized internationally and helped pave the way for badminton to eventually be included in the Olympic Games.
Another reason why badminton was not included in the Olympics earlier was that the sport was not widely played outside of England. It wasn’t until the late 19th century that the game began to be played in other parts of Europe and America.
Badminton Recognized as an Olympic Game
Today, badminton is recognized all over the world as an Olympic sport. But very few know the effort and journey it took to get the game where it is today.
It was the effort of Juan Samaranch along with IBF presidents Stellan Mohlin and Craig Reedie that made badminton an official Olympic sport. Samaranch was the president of the IOC from 1980 to 2001 and is credited with helping bring badminton into the Olympics.
Badminton did appear at the 1988 Olympic games in Seoul as a demonstration sport but it was not until the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona that badminton became an official medal sport.
Final Debut for Badminton in Olympics
At the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics, four events were contested: men’s and women’s singles and doubles. Mixed doubles were added as an event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
The whole world saw 37 countries participating in badminton at the 1992 Olympics. Out of these 37 countries, the player who made first serve officially was Malaysia’s Foo Kok Keong. Since then, badminton has been an official sport in every Summer Olympics.
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Conclusion:
Badminton is a sport that has been growing in popularity all over the world. It is now an official Olympic sport and is played by millions of people. However, it wasn’t always this way. It took many years of effort to get the sport recognized internationally and eventually included in the Olympic Games. But thanks to the hard work of many people, badminton is now an important part of the Olympic games.
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