Badminton

Badminton Trivia

Badminton is named after the county seat of the duke of Beaufort in Gloucestershire, England, possibly the region where the game was first played.
The official world smash speed record is 332 km/h (206 mph), set by men's doubles player Fu Haifeng of China, on June 3, 2005 in the Sudirman Cup. In the singles competition, the fastest smash recorded is 305 km/h (189 mph) by Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia.
The weight of the shuttlecock is about 17-19 ounces. It usually lasts for no more than two games. The heavier the shuttlecock, the faster it flies. They also fly faster in higher temperatures and at higher altitudes.
The first badminton club in the US was the Badminton Club of New York, formed in 1878.

Badminton premiered as a full-medal Olympic sport at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.
The International Badminton Federation's World Grand Prix Circuit, started in the 1980s, turned a primarily amateur sport into a professional one.
The IBF has 130 member associations around the world, with more than 14 million members.