Badminton

Badminton was invented in India. It was adopted by English soldiers there in the 19th century, who brought the game to Great Britain and eventually to many other countries. The game was originally called “Poona”. The new sport took hold in England when it was exhibited there in 1873 at a party given by the Duke of Beaufort at his country estate, “Badminton”, in Gloucestershire.

Badminton was contested as a demonstration sport at the 1972 Olympic Games in München. It made its début as a full medal sport in 1992 at Barcelona. After 1972 it did not appear at the Olympics until its appearance at Barcelona on the medal program. This was then an unusual mode of entry into the Olympics, as sports were usually added after several demonstration appearances.

At the Olympics men and women compete in singles and doubles and there is a mixed doubles event. Badminton is governed by the International Badminton Federation (IBF), which was formed on 5 July 1934 in London with nine members – Canada, Denmark, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales. The organization was renamed to Badminton World Federation (BWF) on 24 September 2006 and has 194 members as of 2020.

Badminton has been dominated by China, Indonesia, and Korea, which have won 79 of 106 available medals through 2016, and 31 of 34 gold medals. Gao Ling (CHN) is the only badminton player to have won four medals, with six players having won three. Ten players have won two gold medals, including Gao Ling.