History of Badminton
Badminton was invented a long time ago; the game was played in ancient Greece and Egypt. Badminton came from a child’s game called battledore and shuttlecock. This game was played with two players hitting a feathered shuttlecock back and forth with tiny rackets. The game was called ‘Poona’ in India during the 18th Century. Badminton took its name from Badminton House in Gloucestershire, the ancestral home of the Duke of Beaufort, where the sport was played I the last century. Gloucestershire is now the base for the International Badminton Federation.
The IBF formed in 1934 with 9 members- Canada, Denmark, France, Netherlands, England, New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The United States joined 4 years later. Membership increased steadily over the next few years with a surge in new members after the Olympic Games debut at Barcelona.
The 1st IBF tournament was the Thomas Cup (Men’s world team championships) in 1948. Since then, the number of world events has increased to 7, with the addition of the Uber Cup (ladies’ team), World Championships, Sudiman Cup (mixed team), World Juniors, World Grand Prix Finals and the World Cup.
A turning point in badminton’s growth was the $20 million tripartite contract in 1994 for sponsorship of the World Grand Prix Finals. Under the terms of the deal between the IBF, IMG and STAR TV, STAR injects the monies into the promotion and development of badminton. In return STAR gains total exclusivity for the exploitation of the commercial and television rights to the WGP Finals. “The deal was good for both main parties”, said David Shaw, IBF’s Executive Director, who was brought into the organization with a brief to grow the sport. “We needed a strong partner in television, and the broadcaster had identified badminton as a vehicle which would attract audiences across Asia to its Prime Sports Channel”.
1996 was a landmark in USA badminton. It’s not only the Atlanta Olympic Games that started to generate tremendous interest in
The IBF formed in 1934 with 9 members- Canada, Denmark, France, Netherlands, England, New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The United States joined 4 years later. Membership increased steadily over the next few years with a surge in new members after the Olympic Games debut at Barcelona.
The 1st IBF tournament was the Thomas Cup (Men’s world team championships) in 1948. Since then, the number of world events has increased to 7, with the addition of the Uber Cup (ladies’ team), World Championships, Sudiman Cup (mixed team), World Juniors, World Grand Prix Finals and the World Cup.
A turning point in badminton’s growth was the $20 million tripartite contract in 1994 for sponsorship of the World Grand Prix Finals. Under the terms of the deal between the IBF, IMG and STAR TV, STAR injects the monies into the promotion and development of badminton. In return STAR gains total exclusivity for the exploitation of the commercial and television rights to the WGP Finals. “The deal was good for both main parties”, said David Shaw, IBF’s Executive Director, who was brought into the organization with a brief to grow the sport. “We needed a strong partner in television, and the broadcaster had identified badminton as a vehicle which would attract audiences across Asia to its Prime Sports Channel”.
1996 was a landmark in USA badminton. It’s not only the Atlanta Olympic Games that started to generate tremendous interest in