Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
name	Badminton
union	Badminton World Federation
first	17th century
contact	No
team	Single or doubles
category	Racquet sport
ball	Shuttlecock
olympic	1992–present }}

Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs (doubles), who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their opponents' half of the court. Each side may only strike the shuttlecock once before it passes over the net. A rally ends once the shuttlecock has struck the floor.

The shuttlecock (or shuttle) is a feathered projectile whose unique aerodynamic properties cause it to fly differently from the balls used in most racquet sports; in particular, the feathers create much higher drag, causing the shuttlecock to decelerate more rapidly than a ball. Shuttlecocks have a much higher top speed, when compared to other racquet sports. Because shuttlecock flight is affected by wind, competitive badminton is played indoors. Badminton is also played outdoors as a casual recreational activity, often as a garden or beach game.

Since 1992, badminton has been an Olympic sport with five events: men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles, in which each pair consists of a man and a woman. At high levels of play, the sport demands excellent fitness: players require aerobic stamina, agility, strength, speed and precision. It is also a technical sport, requiring good motor coordination and the development of sophisticated racquet movements.

History and development

The beginnings of Badminton can be traced to mid-18th century British India, where it was created by British military officers stationed there. Early photographs show Englishmen adding a net to the traditional English game of battledore and shuttlecock. Being particularly popular in the British garrison town Poona (now Pune), the game also came to be known as ''Poona''. Initially, balls of wool referred as ball badminton were preferred by the upper classes in windy or wet conditions, but ultimately the shuttlecock stuck. This game was taken by retired officers back to England where it developed and rules were set out.

As early as 1860, Isaac Spratt, a London toy dealer, published a booklet, ''Badminton Battledore – a new game'', but unfortunately no copy has survived.

The new sport was definitively launched in 1873 at the Badminton House, Gloucestershire, owned by the Duke of Beaufort. During that time, the game was referred to as "The Game of Badminton," and the game's official name became Badminton.

Until 1887, the sport was played in England under the rules that prevailed in British India. The Bath Badminton Club standardized the rules and made the game applicable to English ideas. The basic regulations were drawn up in 1887. In 1893, the Badminton Association of England published the first set of rules according to these regulations, similar to today's rules, and officially launched badminton in a house called "Dunbar" at 6 Waverley Grove, Portsmouth, England on September 13 of that year. They also started the All England Open Badminton Championships, the first badminton competition in the world, in 1899.

The International Badminton Federation (IBF) (now known as Badminton World Federation) was established in 1934 with Canada, Denmark, England, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales as its founding members. India joined as an affiliate in 1936. The BWF now governs international badminton and develops the sport globally.

While initiated in England, competitive men's badminton in Europe has traditionally been dominated by Denmark. Asian nations, however, have been the most dominant ones at the world level. Indonesia, South Korea, China, and Malaysia along with Denmark are among the nations that have consistently produced world-class players in the past few decades, with China being the greatest force in both men's and women's competition in recent years.

Rules

The following information is a simplified summary of badminton rules based on the BWF Statutes publication, Laws of Badminton.

Playing court dimensions

The court is rectangular and divided into halves by a net. Courts are usually marked for both singles and doubles play, although badminton rules permit a court to be marked for singles only. The doubles court is wider than the singles court, but both are of same length. The exception, which often causes confusion to newer players, is that the doubles court has a shorter serve-length dimension.

The full width of the court is 6.1 metres (20 ft), and in singles this width is reduced to 5.18 metres (17 ft). The full length of the court is 13.4 metres (44 ft). The service courts are marked by a centre line dividing the width of the court, by a short service line at a distance of 1.98 metres (6 ft 6 inch) from the net, and by the outer side and back boundaries. In doubles, the service court is also marked by a long service line, which is 0.76 metres (2 ft 6 inch) from the back boundary.

The net is 1.55 metres (5 ft 1 inch) high at the edges and 1.524 metres (5 ft) high in the centre. The net posts are placed over the doubles sidelines, even when singles is played.

The minimum height for the ceiling above the court is not mentioned in the Laws of Badminton. Nonetheless, a badminton court will not be suitable if the ceiling is likely to be hit on a high serve.

Equipment rules

Badminton rules restrict the design and size of racquets and shuttlecocks. Badminton rules also provide for testing a shuttlecock for the correct speed:

; 3.1 : To test a shuttlecock, use a full underhand stroke which makes contact with the shuttlecock over the back boundary line. The shuttlecock shall be hit at an upward angle and in a direction parallel to the side lines.

; 3.2 : A shuttlecock of the correct speed will land not less than 530 mm and not more than 990 mm short of the other back boundary line.

Scoring system and service

The basics

Each game is played to 21 points, with players scoring a point whenever they win a rally regardless of whether they served (this differs from the old system where players could only win a point on their serve and each game was played to 15 points). A match is the best of three games.

At the start of the rally, the server and receiver stand in diagonally opposite ''service courts'' (see court dimensions). The server hits the shuttlecock so that it would land in the receiver's service court. This is similar to tennis, except that a badminton serve must be hit below waist height and with the racquet shaft pointing downwards, the shuttlecock is not allowed to bounce and in badminton, the players stand inside their service courts unlike tennis.

When the serving side loses a rally, the serve immediately passes to their opponent(s) (this differs from the old system where sometimes the serve passes to the doubles partner for what is known as a "second serve").

In singles, the server stands in their right service court when their score is even, and in her/his left service court when her/his score is odd.

In doubles, if the serving side wins a rally, the same player continues to serve, but he/she changes service courts so that she/he serves to a different opponent each time. If the opponents win the rally and their new score is even, the player in the right service court serves; if odd, the player in the left service court serves. The players' service courts are determined by their positions at the start of the previous rally, not by where they were standing at the end of the rally. A consequence of this system is that, each time a side regains the service, the server will be the player who did ''not'' serve last time.

Details

When the server serves, the shuttlecock must pass over the short service line on the opponents' court or it will count as a fault.

If the score reaches 20-all, then the game continues until one side gains a two point lead (such as 24–22), up to a maximum of 30 points (30–29 is a winning score).

At the start of a match, the shuttlecock is cast and the side towards which the shuttlecock is pointing serves first. Alternatively, a coin may be tossed, with the winners choosing whether to serve or receive first, or choosing which end of the court to occupy, and their opponents making the leftover the remaining choice.

In subsequent games, the winners of the previous game serve first. Matches are best out of three: a player or pair must win two games (of 21 points each) to win the match. For the first rally of any doubles game, the serving pair may decide who serves and the receiving pair may decide who receives. The players change ends at the start of the second game; if the match reaches a third game, they change ends both at the start of the game and when the leading player's or pair's score reaches 11 points.

The server and receiver must remain within their service courts, without touching the boundary lines, until the server strikes the shuttlecock. The other two players may stand wherever they wish, so long as they do not block the vision of the server or receiver.

Lets

If a let is called, the rally is stopped and replayed with no change to the score. Lets may occur because of some unexpected disturbance such as a shuttlecock landing on court (having been hit there by players on an adjacent court) or in small halls the shuttle may touch an overhead rail which can be classed as a let.

If the receiver is not ready when the service is delivered, a let shall be called; yet, if the receiver attempts to return the shuttlecock, he shall be judged to have been ready.

Equipment

Racquets

Badminton racquets are lightweight, with top quality racquets weighing between 70 and 95 grams (2.4 to 3.3 ounces) not including grip or strings. They are composed of many different materials ranging from carbon fibre composite (graphite reinforced plastic) to solid steel, which may be augmented by a variety of materials. Carbon fibre has an excellent strength to weight ratio, is stiff, and gives excellent kinetic energy transfer. Before the adoption of carbon fibre composite, racquets were made of light metals such as aluminium. Earlier still, racquets were made of wood. Cheap racquets are still often made of metals such as steel, but wooden racquets are no longer manufactured for the ordinary market, because of their excessive mass and cost. Nowadays, nanomaterials such as fullerene and carbon nanotubes are added to rackets giving them greater durability.

There is a wide variety of racquet designs, although the laws limit the racquet size and shape. Different racquets have playing characteristics that appeal to different players. The traditional oval head shape is still available, but an isometric head shape is increasingly common in new racquets.

Strings

Badminton strings are thin, high performing strings in the range of about 0.62 to 0.73 mm thickness. Thicker strings are more durable, but many players prefer the feel of thinner strings. String tension is normally in the range of 80 to 160 N (18 to 36 lbf). Recreational players generally string at lower tensions than professionals, typically between 80 and 110 N (18 and 25 lbf). Professionals string between about 110 and 160 N (25 and 36 lbf). Some string manufacturers measure the thickness of their strings under tension so they are actually thicker then than specified when slack. Ashaway Micropower is actually 0.7mm but Yonex BG-66 is about 0.72mm.

It is often argued that high string tensions improve control, whereas low string tensions increase power. The arguments for this generally rely on crude mechanical reasoning, such as claiming that a lower tension string bed is more bouncy and therefore provides more power. This is in fact incorrect, for a higher string tension can cause the shuttle to slide off the racquet and hence make it harder to hit a shot accurately. An alternative view suggests that the optimum tension for power depends on the player: the faster and more accurately a player can swing their racquet, the higher the tension for maximum power. Neither view has been subjected to a rigorous mechanical analysis, nor is there clear evidence in favour of one or the other. The most effective way for a player to find a good string tension is to experiment.

Grip

The choice of grip allows a player to increase the thickness of his racquet handle and choose a comfortable surface to hold. A player may build up the handle with one or several grips before applying the final layer.

Players may choose between a variety of grip materials. The most common choices are PU synthetic grips or towelling grips. Grip choice is a matter of personal preference. Players often find that sweat becomes a problem; in this case, a drying agent may be applied to the grip or hands, sweatbands may be used, the player may choose another grip material or change his grip more frequently.

There are two main types of grip: ''replacement'' grips and ''overgrips''. Replacement grips are thicker, and are often used to increase the size of the handle. Overgrips are thinner (less than 1 mm), and are often used as the final layer. Many players, however, prefer to use replacement grips as the final layer. Towelling grips are always replacement grips. Replacement grips have an adhesive backing, whereas overgrips have only a small patch of adhesive at the start of the tape and must be applied under tension; overgrips are more convenient for players who change grips frequently, because they may be removed more rapidly without damaging the underlying material.

Shuttlecock

A shuttlecock (often abbreviated to ''shuttle''; also called a ''birdie'') is a high-drag projectile, with an open conical shape: the cone is formed from sixteen overlapping feathers embedded into a rounded cork base. The cork is covered with thin leather or synthetic material.

Synthetic shuttles are often used by recreational players to reduce their costs as feathered shuttles break easily. These nylon shuttles may be constructed with either natural cork or synthetic foam base, and a plastic skirt.

Shoes

Badminton shoes are lightweight with soles of rubber or similar high-grip, non-marking materials.

Compared to running shoes, badminton shoes have little lateral support. High levels of lateral support are useful for activities where lateral motion is undesirable and unexpected. Badminton, however, requires powerful lateral movements. A highly built-up lateral support will not be able to protect the foot in badminton; instead, it will encourage catastrophic collapse at the point where the shoe's support fails, and the player's ankles are not ready for the sudden loading, which can cause sprains. For this reason, players should choose badminton shoes rather than general trainers or running shoes, because proper badminton shoes will have a very thin sole, lower a person's centre of gravity, and therefore result in fewer injuries. Players should also ensure that they learn safe and proper footwork, with the knee and foot in alignment on all lunges. This is more than just a safety concern: proper footwork is also critical in order to move effectively around the court.

Strokes

Forehand and backhand

Badminton offers a wide variety of basic strokes, and players require a high level of skill to perform all of them effectively. All strokes can be played either ''forehand'' or ''backhand''. A player's forehand side is the same side as their playing hand: for a right-handed player, the forehand side is their right side and the backhand side is their left side. Forehand strokes are hit with the front of the hand leading (like hitting with the palm), whereas backhand strokes are hit with the back of the hand leading (like hitting with the knuckles). Players frequently play certain strokes on the forehand side with a backhand hitting action, and vice versa.

In the forecourt and midcourt, most strokes can be played equally effectively on either the forehand or backhand side; but in the rearcourt, players will attempt to play as many strokes as possible on their forehands, often preferring to play a ''round-the-head'' forehand overhead (a forehand "on the backhand side") rather than attempt a backhand overhead. Playing a backhand overhead has two main disadvantages. First, the player must turn their back to their opponents, restricting their view of them and the court. Second, backhand overheads cannot be hit with as much power as forehands: the hitting action is limited by the shoulder joint, which permits a much greater range of movement for a forehand overhead than for a backhand. The ''backhand clear'' is considered by most players and coaches to be the most difficult basic stroke in the game, since precise technique is needed in order to muster enough power for the shuttlecock to travel the full length of the court. For the same reason, ''backhand smashes'' tend to be weak.

Position of the shuttlecock and receiving player

The choice of stroke depends on how near the shuttlecock is to the net, whether it is above net height, and where an opponent is currently positioned: players have much better attacking options if they can reach the shuttlecock well above net height, especially if it is also close to the net. In the forecourt, a high shuttlecock will be met with a ''net kill'', hitting it steeply downwards and attempting to win the rally immediately. This is why it is best to drop the shuttlecock just over the net in this situation. In the midcourt, a high shuttlecock will usually be met with a powerful ''smash'', also hitting downwards and hoping for an outright winner or a weak reply. Athletic ''jump smashes'', where players jump upwards for a steeper smash angle, are a common and spectacular element of elite men's doubles play. In the rearcourt, players strive to hit the shuttlecock while it is still above them, rather than allowing it to drop lower. This ''overhead'' hitting allows them to play smashes, ''clears'' (hitting the shuttlecock high and to the back of the opponents' court), and dropshots (hitting the shuttlecock so that it falls softly downwards into the opponents' forecourt). If the shuttlecock has dropped lower, then a smash is impossible and a full-length, high clear is difficult.

Vertical position of the shuttlecock

When the shuttlecock is well below net height, players have no choice but to hit upwards. ''Lifts'', where the shuttlecock is hit upwards to the back of the opponents' court, can be played from all parts of the court. If a player does not lift, his only remaining option is to push the shuttlecock softly back to the net: in the forecourt this is called a ''netshot''; in the midcourt or rearcourt, it is often called a ''push'' or ''block''.

When the shuttlecock is near to net height, players can hit ''drives'', which travel flat and rapidly over the net into the opponents' rear midcourt and rearcourt. Pushes may also be hit flatter, placing the shuttlecock into the front midcourt. Drives and pushes may be played from the midcourt or forecourt, and are most often used in doubles: they are an attempt to regain the attack, rather than choosing to lift the shuttlecock and defend against smashes. After a successful drive or push, the opponents will often be forced to lift the shuttlecock.

Other factors

When defending against a smash, players have three basic options: lift, block, or drive. In singles, a block to the net is the most common reply. In doubles, a lift is the safest option but it usually allows the opponents to continue smashing; blocks and drives are counter-attacking strokes, but may be intercepted by the smasher's partner. Many players use a backhand hitting action for returning smashes on both the forehand and backhand sides, because backhands are more effective than forehands at covering smashes directed to the body. It is very good tool to play hard shots which are directed towards your body.

The service is restricted by the Laws and presents its own array of stroke choices. Unlike in tennis, the servers racket must be pointing in a downward direction to deliver the serve so normally the shuttle must be hit upwards to pass over the net. The server can choose a ''low serve'' into the forecourt (like a push), or a lift to the back of the service court, or a flat ''drive serve''. Lifted serves may be either ''high serves'', where the shuttlecock is lifted so high that it falls almost vertically at the back of the court, or ''flick serves'', where the shuttlecock is lifted to a lesser height but falls sooner.

Deception

Once players have mastered these basic strokes, they can hit the shuttlecock from and to any part of the court, powerfully and softly as required. Beyond the basics, however, badminton offers rich potential for advanced stroke skills that provide a competitive advantage. Because badminton players have to cover a short distance as quickly as possible, the purpose of many advanced strokes is to deceive the opponent, so that either he is tricked into believing that a different stroke is being played, or he is forced to delay his movement until he actually sees the shuttle's direction. "Deception" in badminton is often used in both of these senses. When a player is genuinely deceived, he will often lose the point immediately because he cannot change his direction quickly enough to reach the shuttlecock. Experienced players will be aware of the trick and cautious not to move too early, but the attempted deception is still useful because it forces the opponent to delay his movement slightly. Against weaker players whose intended strokes are obvious, an experienced player may move before the shuttlecock has been hit, anticipating the stroke to gain an advantage.

''Slicing'' and using a ''shortened hitting action'' are the two main technical devices that facilitate deception. Slicing involves hitting the shuttlecock with an angled racquet face, causing it to travel in a different direction than suggested by the body or arm movement. Slicing also causes the shuttlecock to travel much slower than the arm movement suggests. For example, a good crosscourt ''sliced dropshot'' will use a hitting action that suggests a straight clear or smash, deceiving the opponent about both the power and direction of the shuttlecock. A more sophisticated slicing action involves brushing the strings around the shuttlecock during the hit, in order to make the shuttlecock spin. This can be used to improve the shuttle's trajectory, by making it dip more rapidly as it passes the net; for example, a sliced low serve can travel slightly faster than a normal low serve, yet land on the same spot. Spinning the shuttlecock is also used to create ''spinning netshots'' (also called ''tumbling netshots''), in which the shuttlecock turns over itself several times (tumbles) before stabilizing; sometimes the shuttlecock remains inverted instead of tumbling. The main advantage of a spinning netshot is that the opponent will be unwilling to address the shuttlecock until it has stopped tumbling, since hitting the feathers will result in an unpredictable stroke. Spinning netshots are especially important for high level singles players.

The lightness of modern racquets allows players to use a very short hitting action for many strokes, thereby maintaining the option to hit a powerful or a soft stroke until the last possible moment. For example, a singles player may hold his racquet ready for a netshot, but then flick the shuttlecock to the back instead with a shallow lift when she or he notices the opponent has moved before the actual shot was played. A shallow lift takes less time to reach the ground and as mentioned above a rally is over when the shuttlecock touches the ground. This makes the opponent's task of covering the whole court much more difficult than if the lift was hit higher and with a bigger, obvious swing. A short hitting action is not only useful for deception: it also allows the player to hit powerful strokes when he has no time for a big arm swing. A big arm swing is also usually not advised in badminton because bigger swings make it more difficult to recover for the next shot in fast exchanges. The use of grip tightening is crucial to these techniques, and is often described as ''finger power''. Elite players develop finger power to the extent that they can hit some power strokes, such as net kills, with less than a racquet swing.

It is also possible to reverse this style of deception, by suggesting a powerful stroke before slowing down the hitting action to play a soft stroke. In general, this latter style of deception is more common in the rearcourt (for example, dropshots disguised as smashes), whereas the former style is more common in the forecourt and midcourt (for example, lifts disguised as netshots).

Deception is not limited to slicing and short hitting actions. Players may also use ''double motion'', where they make an initial racquet movement in one direction before withdrawing the racquet to hit in another direction. Players will often do this to send opponents in the wrong direction. The racquet movement is typically used to suggest a straight angle but then play the stroke cross court, or vice versa. ''Triple motion'' is also possible, but this is very rare in actual play. An alternative to double motion is to use a ''racquet head fake'', where the initial motion is continued but the racquet is turned during the hit. This produces a smaller change in direction, but does not require as much time.

Strategy

To win in badminton, players need to employ a wide variety of strokes in the right situations. These range from powerful jumping smashes to delicate tumbling net returns. Often rallies finish with a smash, but setting up the smash requires subtler strokes. For example, a netshot can force the opponent to lift the shuttlecock, which gives an opportunity to smash. If the netshot is tight and tumbling, then the opponent's lift will not reach the back of the court, which makes the subsequent smash much harder to return.

Deception is also important. Expert players prepare for many different strokes that look identical, and use slicing to deceive their opponents about the speed or direction of the stroke. If an opponent tries to anticipate the stroke, he may move in the wrong direction and may be unable to change his body momentum in time to reach the shuttlecock.

Doubles

Both pairs will try to gain and maintain the attack, smashing downwards when possible. Whenever possible, a pair will adopt an ideal attacking formation with one player hitting down from the rearcourt, and his partner in the midcourt intercepting all smash returns except the lift. If the rearcourt attacker plays a dropshot, his partner will move into the forecourt to threaten the net reply. If a pair cannot hit downwards, they will use flat strokes in an attempt to gain the attack. If a pair is forced to lift or clear the shuttlecock, then they must defend: they will adopt a side-by-side position in the rear midcourt, to cover the full width of their court against the opponents' smashes. In doubles, players generally smash to the middle ground between two players in order to take advantage of confusion and clashes.

At high levels of play, the backhand serve has become popular to the extent that forehand serves have become fairly rare at a high level of play. The straight low serve is used most frequently, in an attempt to prevent the opponents gaining the attack immediately. Flick serves are used to prevent the opponent from anticipating the low serve and attacking it decisively.

At high levels of play, doubles rallies are extremely fast. Men's doubles is the most aggressive form of badminton, with a high proportion of powerful jump smashes.

Singles

The singles court is narrower than the doubles court, but the same length. Since one person needs to cover the entire court, singles tactics are based on forcing the opponent to move as much as possible; this means that singles strokes are normally directed to the corners of the court. Players exploit the length of the court by combining lifts and clears with drop shots and net shots. Smashing is less prominent in singles than in doubles because players are rarely in the ideal position to execute a smash, and smashing often leaves the smasher vulnerable if the smash is returned.

In singles, players will often start the rally with a forehand high serve or with a flick serve. Low serves are also used frequently, either forehand or backhand. Drive serves are rare.

At high levels of play, singles demands extraordinary fitness. Singles is a game of patient positional manoeuvring, unlike the all-out aggression of doubles.

Mixed doubles

In mixed doubles, both pairs typically try to maintain an attacking formation with the woman at the front and the man at the back. This is because the male players are usually substantially stronger, and can therefore produce smashes that are more powerful. As a result, mixed doubles require greater tactical awareness and subtler positional play. Clever opponents will try to reverse the ideal position, by forcing the woman towards the back or the man towards the front. In order to protect against this danger, mixed players must be careful and systematic in their shot selection.

At high levels of play, the formations will generally be more flexible: the top women players are capable of playing powerfully from the back-court, and will happily do so if required. When the opportunity arises, however, the pair will switch back to the standard mixed attacking position, with the woman in front.

Governing bodies

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the internationally recognized governing body of the sport. Five regional confederations are associated with the BWF:

Asia: Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC)

Africa: Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA)

Americas: Badminton Pan Am (North America and South America belong to the same confederation; BPA)

Europe: Badminton Europe (BE)

Oceania: Badminton Oceania (BO)

Competitions

The BWF organizes several international competitions, including the Thomas Cup, the premier men's international team event first held in 1948–1949, and the Uber Cup, the women's equivalent first held in 1956–1957. The competitions take place once every two years. More than 50 national teams compete in qualifying tournaments within continental confederations for a place in the finals. The final tournament involves 12 teams, following an increase from eight teams in 2004.

The Sudirman Cup, a gender-mixed international team event held once every two years, began in 1989. Teams are divided into seven levels based on the performance of each country. To win the tournament, a country must perform well across all five disciplines (men's doubles and singles, women's doubles and singles, and mixed doubles). Like association football (soccer), it features a promotion and relegation system in every level.

Badminton was a demonstration event in the 1972 and 1988 Summer Olympics. It became an official Summer Olympic sport at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and its gold medals now generally rate as the sport's most coveted prizes for individual players.

In the BWF World Championships, first held in 1977, currently only the highest ranked 64 players in the world, and a maximum of three from each country, can participate in any category. In both the Olympic and BWF World competitions restrictions on the number of participants from any one country have caused some controversy because they sometimes result in excluding elite world level players from the strongest badminton nations. The Thomas, Uber, and Sudirman Cups, the Olympics, and the BWF World (and World Junior Championships), are all categorized as level one tournaments.

At the start of 2007, the BWF introduced a new tournament structure for the highest level tournaments aside from those in level one: the BWF Super Series. This level two tournament series, a tour for the world's elite players, stages twelve open tournaments around the world with 32 players (half the previous limit). The players collect points that determine whether they can play in Super Series Final held at the year end. Among the tournaments in this series is the venerable All-England Championships, first held in 1900, which was once considered the unofficial world championships of the sport.

Level three tournaments consist of Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix event. Top players can collect the world ranking points and enable them to play in the BWF Super Series open tournaments. These include the regional competitions in Asia (Badminton Asia Championships) and Europe (European Badminton Championships), which produce the world's best players as well as the Pan America Badminton Championships.

The level four tournaments, known as International Challenge, International Series and Future Series, encourage participation by junior players.

Comparisons with other racquet sports

Badminton is frequently compared to tennis. The following is a list of uncontentious comparisons:

In tennis, the ball may bounce once before the player hits it; in badminton, the rally ends once the shuttlecock touches the floor.

In tennis, the serve is dominant to the extent that the server is expected to win most of his service games (at advanced level & onwards); a ''break'' of service, where the server loses the game, is of major importance in a match. In badminton a server has far less advantage, and is unlikely to score an 'ace' (unreturnable serve).

In tennis, the server is allowed two attempts to make a correct serve; in badminton, the server is allowed only one attempt.

The tennis court is larger than the badminton court.

Tennis racquets are about four times as heavy as badminton racquets, 10–12 ounces (approximately 284–340 grams) versus 2–3 ounces (70–105 grams). Tennis balls are more than eleven times heavier than shuttlecocks, 57 grams versus 5 grams. The fastest recorded tennis stroke is Ivo Karlovic's serve, whereas the fastest badminton stroke during gameplay was Fu Haifeng's recorded smash.

Comparisons of speed and athletic requirements

Statistics such as the smash speed, above, prompt badminton enthusiasts to make other comparisons that are more contentious. For example, it is often claimed that badminton is the fastest racquet sport. Although badminton holds the record for the fastest initial speed of a racket sports projectile, the shuttlecock decelerates substantially faster than other projectiles such as tennis balls. In turn, this qualification must be qualified by consideration of the distance over which the shuttlecock travels: a smashed shuttlecock travels a shorter distance than a tennis ball during a serve. Badminton's claim as the fastest racquet sport might also be based on reaction time requirements, but arguably table tennis requires even faster reaction times.

While fans of badminton and tennis often claim that their sport is the more physically demanding, such comparisons are difficult to make objectively because of the differing demands of the games. No formal study currently exists evaluating the physical condition of the players or demands during game play.

Comparisons of technique

Badminton and tennis techniques differ substantially. The lightness of the shuttlecock and of badminton rackets allow badminton players to make use of the wrist and fingers much more than tennis players; in tennis the wrist is normally held stable, and playing with a mobile wrist may lead to injury. For the same reasons, badminton players can generate power from a short racket swing: for some strokes such as net kills, an elite player's swing may be less than . For strokes that require more power, a longer swing will typically be used, but the badminton racket swing will rarely be as long as a typical tennis swing.

It is often asserted that power in badminton strokes comes mainly from the wrist. This is a misconception and may be criticised for two reasons. First, it is strictly speaking a category error: the wrist is a joint, not a muscle; the forearm muscles control its movement. Second, wrist movements are weak when compared to forearm or upper arm movements. Badminton biomechanics have not been the subject of extensive scientific study, but some studies confirm the minor role of the wrist in power generation, and indicate that the major contributions to power come from internal and external rotations of the upper and lower arm. Modern coaching resources such as the ''Badminton England Technique DVD'' reflect these ideas by emphasising forearm rotation rather than wrist movements.

Distinctive characteristics of the shuttlecock

The shuttlecock differs greatly from the balls used in most other racquet sports.

Aerodynamic drag and stability

The feathers impart substantial drag, causing the shuttlecock to decelerate greatly over distance. The shuttlecock is also extremely aerodynamically stable: regardless of initial orientation, it will turn to fly cork-first, and remain in the cork-first orientation.

One consequence of the shuttlecock's drag is that it requires considerable skill to hit it the full length of the court, which is not the case for most racquet sports. The drag also influences the flight path of a lifted (''lobbed'') shuttlecock: the parabola of its flight is heavily skewed so that it falls at a steeper angle than it rises. With very high serves, the shuttlecock may even fall vertically.

Spin

Balls may be spun to alter their bounce (for example, topspin and backspin in tennis), and players may slice the ball (strike it with an angled racket face) to produce such spin; but, since the shuttlecock is not allowed to bounce, this does not apply to badminton.

Slicing the shuttlecock so that it spins, however, does have applications, and some are particular to badminton. (See Basic strokes for an explanation of technical terms.)

Slicing the shuttlecock from the side may cause it to travel in a different direction from the direction suggested by the player's racket or body movement. This is used to deceive opponents.

Slicing the shuttlecock from the side may cause it to follow a slightly curved path (as seen from above), and the deceleration imparted by the spin causes sliced strokes to slow down more suddenly towards the end of their flight path. This can be used to create dropshots and smashes that dip more steeply after they pass the net.

When playing a netshot, slicing underneath the shuttlecock may cause it to turn over itself (tumble) several times as it passes the net. This is called a ''spinning netshot'' or ''tumbling netshot''. The opponent will be unwilling to address the shuttlecock until it has corrected its orientation.

Due to the way that its feathers overlap, a shuttlecock also has a slight natural spin about its axis of rotational symmetry. The spin is in a counter-clockwise direction as seen from above when dropping a shuttlecock. This natural spin affects certain strokes: a tumbling netshot is more effective if the slicing action is from right to left, rather than from left to right.

See also

Ball badminton

Hanetsuki

List of racquet sports

Speed badminton

References

Books

Bernd-Volker Brahms, Badminton Handbook, Meyer & Meyer, Aachen 2010, ISBN 978-1-84126-298-7

External links

Badminton World Federation

* Laws of Badminton

* Simplified Rules

Badminton Asia Confederation

Badminton Pan Am

Badminton Oceania

Badminton Europe

Badminton Confederation of Africa

Category:Racquet sports Category:Olympic sports Category:Sports originating in South Asia *

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Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
name	Lee Chong Wei
size	200px
birth name	李宗伟
birth date	October 21, 1982
birth place	George Town, Penang, Malaysia
height
weight
event	Men's singles
country
handedness	Right
coach	Tey Seu Bock
highest ranking	1
date of highest ranking	– , – , –
current ranking	1
date of current ranking	July 14, 2011
medal templates	}}

| bwf_id = 2E62073C-AD95-40BE-8364-0A2EC054A4AC }}

Datuk Lee Chong Wei (; born October 21, 1982 in Georgetown, Penang) is a professional badminton player from Malaysia who resides in Bukit Mertajam. Lee won the silver medal in the 2008 Olympic Games, thus becoming the first Malaysian to reach the final of the men's singles event and ending Malaysia's Olympic medal drought since the 1996 Games. This achievement also earned him the title Datuk, and a description by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak as a national hero.

As a singles player, Lee was ranked first worldwide on August 21, 2008. He is the third Malaysian men's singles shuttler after Rashid Sidek and Roslin Hashim to achieve such a ranking (since official rankings were first kept in the 1980s), and is the only Malaysian shuttler to hold the ranking for more than two weeks.

Despite his number 1 status since 2008, Lee is still searching for his first Olympic Games, World Championship and Asian Games titles.

Personal life

In his early years, Lee favoured basketball, however his mother soon banned him from that activity due to the searing heat of the outdoor basketball court. Lee began to learn badminton at the age of 11, when his father, who liked to play the game, brought him to the badminton hall. Attracting the attention of a local coach, the coach asked Lee's father if he could take him as a student. After receiving the nod from his father, the coach began to train Lee after school. Discovered by Misbun Sidek, he was drafted into the national squad when he was seventeen years old.

On November 3, 2006, Lee was involved in a car accident. On his way to Bukit Jalil after dinner, he was knocked from behind by a vehicle which had lost control after a tire burst. He was then sent to the Sunway Medical Centre and treated with six stitches for his head injury.

Lee received RM300,000 on August 21, 2008, as a reward for his silver medal effort in the 2008 Olympic Games. Also, he received RM3,000 a month as a lifetime pension beginning in August 2008. For the same achievement, he was conferred with a Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN), which carries the title Datuk by Governor of Penang, Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas on August 30, 2008.

On June 6, 2009, Lee received the Darjah Bakti (DB) award, from Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, in conjunction with the Birthday of Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong, for his achievements in the 2008 Olympics. He was in a relationship with Wong Mew Choo, his teammate. However, Lee and Wong announced they are no longer together during the 2009 World Championships in Hyderabad, India.

On March 16, 2011, Lee received Permodalan Nasional Berhad shares worth MYR100,000 from Najib Tun razak soon after his triumph in All England Open. He appointed as KDU University College ambassador on July 31, 2011.

He has hinted he could retire following the 2012 Olympics.

Career

2002–2007

Lee picked up only one title in 2002 and 2003, the major achievement being, reaching the final of the 2003 Malaysia Open, his first final of a major tournament, where was defeated by Chen Hong of China.

Lee then secured two titles in 2004, the Malaysia Open and Chinese Taipei Open. Lee gained a spot for 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. In his first Olympics appearance, Lee defeated Ng Wei of Hong Kong in the first round. His journey ended in the second round when he was beaten by Chen Hong. Lee then bagged another two titles in 2005, his second Malaysia Open title and Denmark Open. Lee bagged bronze in his first appearance in the world meet, the 2005 World Championships after losing to eventual winner Taufik Hidayat in the semifinal.

Lee then wrapped up three titles out of six finals in 2006. He was crowned as the winner of Swiss Open, Asian Badminton Championships and his third Malaysia Open title. He also reached the final of the Chinese Taipei Open, Macau Open and Hong Kong Open. In the Malaysia Open, Lee pulled an amazing comeback, as he fought back from 13–20 down in the rubber game and saved eight match points against Lin Dan, and finally wrapped up the game 23–21 to secure the title. Lee helped Malaysia bagged two gold medals in the badminton event for 2006 Commonwealth Games in March, in both men's singles and mixed team event. Lee reaches top spot twice in Badminton World Federation's world rankings in 2006, and he participated in the World Championships as top seed. However, he was upset by Bao Chunlai of China in the quarterfinal despite Lee holds all win in previous meeting. The match was also marred by two controversial line calls that were not in favour of Lee.

The 2007 season saw Lee failing to reach the final for the first time in five years in Malaysia Open, he also suffered an early exit in five competitions afterward and only saw him bounce back and took the Indonesia Open crown, his first title since the 2006 Malaysia Open after reuniting with former coach Misbun Sidek from Li Mao. His performance at the second half of the year was solid, as he achieved three titles in Philippines Open, Japan Open, and French Open. He also managed to reach the final of the China Open and Hong Kong Open, despite his knee injury haunting him on both occasions. Lee won all matches he played in Sudirman Cup in June, despite Malaysia finished only fifth in the tournament. Lee's lowlight of the year was in World Championships, despite the tournament held in front of his home crowd and his solid performance during the second half of the year, he was upset in the third round to Indonesian's Sony Dwi Kuncoro. Lee swipe at chief coach Yap Kim Hock soon after the defeat by claiming that Yap treated him indifferently and was putting pressure in his preparation for the championships.

2008

Lee kicked off year 2008 in success, capturing his fourth Malaysia Open title in five years. However, Lee only captured his second title of the year in Singapore Open, also the final tournament in his pre-Olympic preparations, just after five tournaments he took part, in Korea Open; All England Open; Swiss Open; Badminton Asia Championships; and Thomas Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia where Lee helped Malaysia advanced through to the semifinal where he defeated Lin Dan to give Malaysia a 1–0 lead in its clash with defending champion China. However, Malaysia eventually lost 2–3 due to the defeat of its first doubles team in the vital final match.

In the 2008 Olympic Games, Lee was given a bye in the first round. He cruised to straight game victories over Ronald Susilo in the second round, Kęstutis Navickas in the third round, and Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the quarterfinals. He had a scare in the semifinals where Lee Hyun-il gave him a tough fight, but eventually Chong Wei was able to beat the South Korean and reach the final. However, it was a one-sided final, as Lee was completely outplayed by Lin Dan and salvaged only 20 points, losing 12–21, 8–21. He came second place overall.

Lee participated in several tournaments after the Olympic Games, without capturing a title. He advanced to the finals of the Japan Open, the Macau Open and China Open, but lost to Sony Dwi Kuncoro, Taufik Hidayat, and Lin Dan respectively. In the French Open Lee was eliminated in the semifinals. His coach, Misbun Sidek, cited the pressure of being ranked world number one to explain Lee's recent failure to capture a title.

Lee ended his last Super Series tourney of the year, the Hong Kong Open, with a sudden withdrawal due to a knee injury, conceding a walkover to Germany’s Marc Zwiebler. His last minute withdrawal led to the Chinese media to tag him as the "weakest world number one". The Chinese media also speculated that three factors had hampered Lee's performance since the Olympic Games. They listed these as the stress of the Olympic final, a phobia of Lin Dan due to his lopsided Olympic defeat at Lin's hands, and (echoing Misbun Sidek's conjecture) the pressure of being the world number one.

Despite Lee's recent difficulties in international play, he recorded his seventh consecutive victory at the National Badminton Grand Prix Final in Kedah on December 12, 2008, thus breaking the record of six consecutive titles set by Misbun Sidek. Lee ended the year with a title in the Super Series Masters Finals, however, Lin Dan and China's other top players did not compete, their association citing injuries and fatigue.

2009

Lee started 2009 season with his fifth Malaysia Open title. He failed to secure his first Korea Open and All England Open title despite marching into the final. However, he secured his second title of the year in the Swiss Open which was held in Basel, defeating Lin Dan in straight sets and marking his first win in the finals against the Chinese opponent outside home turf. Next, Lee surprisingly was defeated by Chen Long of China in the India Open. He cited that the loss was due to food poisoning and insisted the authorities to improve the conditions before the World Championships. In May, Lee helped Malaysia reached the semi-finals of the Sudirman Cup, the first in national history, despite his unbeaten record in the tournament being blown by Lin Dan. He bagged another two titles in June, the Indonesia Open, and the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold, despite failing to defend his Singapore Open title when he was surprised by Nguyen Tien Minh in the second round.

Lee kicks off second half of the season with defeat to Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the world meets, but recovery to won the Macau Open in August. He reached semi-final in the China Masters, but once again failed to beat his all time rivalry Lin Dan. Then, Lee participated in the Japan Open, he only manage into second round of the Open, before won the Hong Kong Open in November. His inconsistency saw him tumbles down in the first round of the China Open. In December, Lee defended his Super Series Masters Finals title, which saw the competition played without the top badminton players in the world.

2010

Lee started the year with the title in all events he took part, his first treble in the Super Series titles. His first ever Korea Open crown, sixth Malaysia Open, and defeated Kenichi Tago to win the oldest and prestigious badminton championship in the world, the All England Open, his first one since he took part in 2004.

Lee participated in the Thomas Cup in his home ground. He managed to defeat Kenichi Tago and take the first point, despite Malaysia's eventual loss (2–3) to Japan. In the quarter finals, he beat Peter Gade, thus helping to secure Malaysia's place in the semi-finals. In the semi finals against China, Lee was defeated by Lin Dan, which ended his 18-match unbeaten record since the start of the year.

In June, Lee participated in Singapore Open losing in the quarter-finals. However, Lee bounced back winning the Indonesia Open, Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold in July, and Macau Open in August. In late August, Lee suffered a shock exit in his another attempt for World Championships, beaten to Taufik Hidayat in the quarterfinals. Misbun cited that the lost was due to the back injury he picked-up after the match against Rajiv Ouseph in third round. On September 26, Lee beat his arch rival Lin Dan in Japan Open, the only title not grab by Chinese player in the tournament.

In October, he helped Malaysia to beat India to defend the gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games mixed team event, then he also successfully defended his gold medal once again in the singles event a few days later. The following month he won a silver medal at the Asian Games. Despite beating reigning World Champion Chen Jin in the semi-final, Lee once again tasted defeat at the hands of his great rival, Lin Dan, in the final. In season end, He bagged the second consecutive Hong Kong Open title, and third consecutive Super Series Master Finals title, where the tournament was held in January 2011.

2011

In January, Lee won his seventh Malaysia Open title by defeating Taufik Hidayat from Indonesia in the final. However, he failed to defend the Korea Open title, the world's first ever million-dollar badminton tournament, after being beaten by Lin Dan from China in three games. In March, Lee cruised into the final of the All England Open for the third consecutive time and retained his title successfully with a convincing straight games victory over Lin Dan, and was praised by prime minister Najib Tun Razak.

On Labour Day, he won his first ever India Open, and also his third consecutive Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold title a week later. Despite the fact that Lee won all his matches he played during the Sudirman Cup, Malaysia's journey ended in quarterfinals, after being beaten by South Korea 2–3. In late June, he won the Indonesia Open, becoming the first non-Indonesian player to complete the hat-trick in the tournament.

Lee's hopes of becoming the first Malaysian to win gold in the World Championships were dashed after defeat by Lin Dan in the final. Lee led for most of the match but lost two important match points in the rubber game.

Awards and honours

Below is the list of awards won by Lee, also he was appointed as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2009.

{| class=wikitable !Date !Awards !Reason |- |5 April 2006 |2005 National Sportsman |Consistency and focus in game |- |29 April 2006 |2005 Penang Sportsman |Performance in the 2005 IBF World Championships and 2005 All England Open Badminton Championships. |- |18 November 2008 |2007 Penang Sportsman | |- |12 December 2008 |Malaysia's Male Olympian 2008 |The only Malaysian to win a silver medal in 2008 Summer Olympics. |- |23 March 2009 |2008 National Sportsman | |- |12 June 2009 |Winner of the Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM) awards | |- |9 August 2009 |2008 Penang Sportsman | |- |17 October 2010 |2009 Penang Sportsman | |}

Achievements

Career finals (38 titles, 18 runner-ups)

: Super Series tournament : Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix tournament

References

Category:Badminton players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Badminton players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Malaysian Chinese people Category:Malaysian badminton players Category:Olympic badminton players of Malaysia Category:Olympic silver medalists for Malaysia Category:People from Penang Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Malaysia Category:Badminton players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Category:Olympic medalists in badminton Category:Asian Games medalists in badminton

ca:Chong Wei Lee da:Lee Chong Wei de:Lee Chong Wei fr:Lee Chong Wei ko:리총웨이 id:Lee Chong Wei it:Lee Chong Wei ms:Lee Chong Wei ja:リー・チョンウェイ no:Lee Chong Wei pl:Lee Chong Wei pt:Lee Chong Wei ru:Ли Цзунвэй fi:Lee Chong Wei sv:Lee Chong Wei ta:லீ சாங் வேய் uk:Лі Чжон Вей zh:李宗伟

Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
name	Kenichi Tago
birth date	July 16, 1989
height
weight
event	Men's singles
country
handedness	Right handed
bwf id	63707 }}

Kenichi Tago (born July 16, 1989) is a male badminton player from Japan. In 2010, he surprisingly reached the final of the prestigious All England Open Badminton Championships final. En route to the final he beats three seeded players including Joachim Persson, Chen Jin and Bao Chunlai. In the final, Tago lost to the first seed and reigning World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia with a score of 21–19 and 21–19, following an incorrect line call in Lee Chong Wei's favour at matchpoint.

Record Against Selected Opponents

Includes results from all competitions 2006–present.

Sho Sasaki 2–0 Jan Ø. Jørgensen 4–0 Ronald Susilo 1–0 Wei Ng 2–1 Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 4–1 Shon Seung Mo 0–2 Chetan Anand 3–0 Lee Hyun Il 0–1 Chen Jin 1–3 Andrew Smith 0-3 Simon Santoso 1–2 Chen Yu 1-1 Sony Dwi Kuncoro 0–3 Hu Yun 1–0 Chan Yan Kit 3–0 Park Sung Hwan 0–3 Lee Chong Wei 0–6 Du Peng Yu 1–2 Joachim Persson 2–0 Marc Zwiebler 2-0 Anup Sridhar 1–0 Chen Long 1–2 Peter Gade 0–3 Hsieh Yu-Hsin 2–0 Taufik Hidayat 0–3 Tien Minh Nguyen 1–0 Bao Chunlai 1–0 Ajay Jayaram 0–1

References

External links

Profile on Ntt-east.co.jp

Profile on Badmintonasia.org

Category:Living people Category:1989 births Category:Japanese badminton players

de:Ken’ichi Tago fr:Kenichi Tago ja:田児賢一 zh:田兒賢一

Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
name	Chen Long
birth name	谌龙
birth date	January 18, 1989
birth place	Xiamen, Fujian, China
height
weight
event	Men's singles
country
handedness	Right
highest ranking	3
date of highest ranking	January, 2011
current ranking	4
date of current ranking	June, 2011
medal templates	}}

| bwf_id = 8F42FC23-89C1-40CF-8F20-8519DE2BE4EF }}

Chen Long ( born January 18, 1989 in Xiamen, Fujian) is a male badminton player from China.

Career

2010

Chen participated in the Korea Open Super Series in January. He made it through to the semi-finals before losing to Danish player Peter Gade, 13-21 21-10 17-21. A week later, in the Malaysia Open, he lost in the opening round to Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand.

At the prestigious All England Open in March, he registered an impressive victory over 8th seed Jan Jorgensen in the first round but fell to Korea's Shon Wan-ho 18-21 21-18 19-21 in the second round. He followed up this disappointment with his best ever performance in a Super Series event by making it through to the final of the Swiss Open, where he finished runner-up to compatriot Chen Jin.

Chen was part of the Chinese team that successfully won gold at the 2010 Thomas Cup in Kuala Lumpur. He only featured in their opening match against Peru, taking just 31 minutes to beat his opponent, before being replaced in the team by Bao Chunlai for the later rounds. Chen's first individual title of 2010 came at the Bitburger Open in Germany, where he beat Denmark's Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 21-3 12-21 21-9 in the final of the GP Gold event. His good form continued when he finished runner-up to Lin Dan at the China Masters two weeks later, going down 15-21 21-13 14-21 to the reigning Olympic champion.

Chen obtained a second team gold medal of the year with China at the Asian Games held in Guangzhou, but did not feature in the individual event. More success followed when he won the China Open Super Series two weeks later. His passage to the final included a controversial walkover by Lin Dan in the quarter-finals and a hard fought victory over current World champion Chen Jin in the semi-finals. In the final, he squared off against teammate Bao Chunlai, emerging the victor after 75 minutes of play. Chen's attempt at back-to-back Super Series titles came to an end at the hands of former Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat in the semi-final of the Hong Kong Open the following week. Chen's strong finish to the year saw his world ranking rise to a career high of 3rd, briefly becoming the top ranked Chinese player.

2011

Despite his recent success, Chen Long was clearly outclassed in the semifinal of the Malaysia Open 2011 by the world number 1 Lee Chong Wei. It took only 39 minutes to blow away the upcoming Chinese star with a score of 21-9 and 21-9. The demoralizing defeat was evident a week later when he was blown out in the second round of Korea Open 2011 by Kenichi Tago. His first individual title of the year came at the Thailand Open, where he beat experienced Korean player Lee Hyun-il in the final.

Achievements

Finals (4 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Rank	Year	Tournament	Opponent in final	Score
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References

Category:Chinese badminton players Category:1989 births Category:Living people Category:People from Xiamen Category:Asian Games medalists in badminton

de:Chen Long fr:Chen Long zh:谌龙

Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
name	Jung Jae-sung
size	200px
birth date	August 25, 1982
birth place	Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea
height
weight
event	Men's doubles
country
handedness	Right
coach	Ha Tae-kwon
highest ranking	1
date of highest ranking	January, 2009
current ranking	2
date of current ranking	March, 2011
medal templates	}}

| bwf_id = 81C0A98A-EB0C-473C-AD58-0889C6CF2BAA }}

Jung Jae-sung (Hangul: 정재성; Hanja: 鄭在成; born August 25, 1982 in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do) is a male badminton player from South Korea.

Jung started playing badminton at 7, at his local elementary school. He entered the South Korea national badminton team in 2001. His current partner, as of 2006, is Lee Yong-dae.

Career

2005

Jung won the Thailand Open with his former partner Lee Jae-jin, beating the Danes Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen in the final.

2006

Jung won the Thailand Open together with Lee; they had a walkover in the final against compatriots Lee Jae-jin, with whom Jung won the last Thailand Open, and Hwang Ji-man.

At the Asian Games, Jung and Lee became bronze medalists after losing the semi-finals to Luluk Hadiyanto and Alvent Yulianto of Indonesia in the individual men's doubles event. In the team event, South Korea lost to China in the final 2-3, thus gaining Jung a silver medal.

2007

In January, Jung and Lee participated in the Malaysia Open, the first ever BWF Super Series event. There they got through the first round but had to resign due to injury. However a week later they blew away competition to take the first prize at the Korea Open. Jung and Lee lost to Lee Jae-jin and Hwang Ji-man in the final of the German Open.

Jung participated to the 2007 Sudirman Cup with the South Korea team. The team lost to China in the semi-finals with a score of 0-3.

In July, after a period of disappointing results in men's doubles, Lee became runner-up with Jung at the Thailand Open, losing to Lee Jae-jin and Hwang Ji-man. Not much later, the pair went on to take the silver medal in the 2007 BWF World Championships. They were defeated in the final by Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia, 19-21, 19-21. The rest of the year also resulted in quite disappointing achievements, not getting past quarterfinals in any major events, except in the French Open. Jung and Lee there lost to the eventual winners, Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng of China.

2008

To start 2008, Jung, together with Lee, disappointingly lost to an unseeded pair in the second round of the Malaysia Open. In Korea, things went a bit better, achieving a quarterfinal. There they lost to runners-up Luluk Hadiyanto and Alvent Yulianto of Indonesia.

More than a month later, Jung and Lee came back with a bang to win the All England Open of 2008, beating Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah in a thrilling semi-final (coming back from a 16-20 deficit in the third game) and compatriots Lee Jae-jin and Hwang Ji-man in the finals. A week later, the pair were victorious in the Swiss Open of 2008 too.

At the Badminton Asia Championships Jung and Lee became winners, beating Candra Wijaya and Nova Widianto of Indonesia in the final.

Jung and Lee were the only ones to score a point for South Korea against China in the Thomas Cup final, which ended in a 3-1 win for China.

Olympics

Not having participated in the two following Super Series events, supposedly because of their preparations for the Summer Olympics, Jung and Lee were disappointingly knocked out in the first round in Beijing. His partner went on to get the gold medal in mixed doubles.

References

External links

Badzine Player's Database

Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:Badminton players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic badminton players of South Korea Category:People from Jeollabuk-do Category:People from Jeonju Category:South Korean badminton players Category:Asian Games medalists in badminton

de:Jung Jae-sung id:Jung Jae-sung ms:Jung Jae-sung zh:郑在成