1. The forerunner of badminton is the Ti Zian game which first came from China in the 2nd century BC. The first is to use the feet to hit the ball and not the racket. This game still exists in China.

2. The game of badminton is also derived from the game of Poona (taken from its place of origin in the city of Pune), India. Initially this game was played with hands and palms as rackets, then changed to feet.

3. In the 16th century, the game was known in England as Jeu de Volant (flying game) or battledore.

4. In 1873, the Duke of Beaufort introduced the game to the government in his homeland, Badminton House in Gloucestershire, England, and badminton was later named Badminton by the guests.

5. The initial names of badminton were Shuttlecock and Battledore. The name was later changed to Badminton after Badminton House in Gloucestershire, England.

6. The first official badminton club was founded in 1877 which was named The Bath Badminton Club.

7. In 1934, the International Badminton Federation (now known as Badminton World Federation/BWF) was founded with 9 member countries: Canada, Denmark, England, France, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales. Now the BWF consists of 188 countries.

8. Since being included in the Olympics in 1992, Asian players have won 93 of the 103 Olympic medals.

9. Badminton is the second most popular sport in the world after football. When it first appeared at the Olympics in 1992 there were 1.1 billion TV viewers watching the games.

10. The most successful badminton nations in the world are China and Indonesia, who have won 70% of all BWF events between them.

11. The Thomas Cup, the men’s team world championship, has been won by just three countries since its inception in 1948 – Malaysia, Indonesia and China.

12. The average shuttlecock weighs between 4.74 and 5.5 grams, the best of which are made from the feathers of the left wing of a goose. The feathers used are 16 feathers.

13. The record for the shortest badminton game in the world is 6 minutes, namely in the 1996 Uber Cup in Hong Kong between Ra Kyung-min (South Korea) against Julia Mann (England) with a score of 11-2, 11-1.

14. The longest badminton game is 124 minutes, which is between Peter Rasmussen (Denmark) and Sun Jun (China). Won by Rasmussen with a score of 16-17, 18-13, 15-10.

15. On May 22, 2006, Tan Boon Heong from Malaysia set a Guinness Book of World Records record, hitting a smash of 206 mph.

16. Liem Swie King from Indonesia has a unique characteristic in his very hard smash jump. He was the first player to smash by jumping up to a height of 1 m on the international circuit.