Why isn't badminton more popular?

galain

galain

Hall of Fame
Just got back from some time in South East Asia where I spent many a happy hour watching badminton on tv. I was thinking about it and I'm honestly surprised it doesn't rate more highly. It's a fast paced, strategic very exciting sport to watch - a lot easier to follow visually than squash, and for my money, more interesting to look at at.

Tennis today is played as a baseline game, for the most part, which can get boring, yet tennis has always had great tv coverage where I'm from. Badminton - not nearly as much. Admittedly, I come from an outdoors country, but I now live in a land of indoor sports where badminton is very popular, yet I hardly ever see it on tv. Any ideas why?
 
Badminton is actually more tiring than tennis. I can play tennis for around 2 hours NP but badminton tires me out in under an hour. Very fast paced.
 
There are a number of reasons that badminton is not more popular today in the US than it is. Note that this was not always the case. Back in the 1920s thru the early 1970s, badminton was very popular in the US -- even in Hollywood. The US had a number of world-class champs in the late 30s (Dave Freeman) thru the 60s/70s (James Poole, Judy Devlin et al.).

Starting in the 60s and early 70s, other activities (baseball, besketball, American football) started to put tons of money into their sports. This was also the start of the Open era in tennis -- tennis was HUGE in the US in the 70s. This meant more prize money, more TV coverage and a larger fan base. The best athletes in the US followed the buck. Badminton, unfortunately, was left behind.

Badminton also suffers from an image problem. Back in the 1950s/60s, Sportscraft (I believe) started making badminton/vollyball sets to play in the backyard or at picnics in the park. With the lack of money & TV coverage in the US, badminton came to be regarded as a backyard game -- BBQ badminton -- and not as a competitive sport.

This image has haunted both badminton and volleyball since that time. Volleyball managed to shake the image starting in the 1980s with TV coverage of Olympic volleyball. Two-man beach volleyball also started to gain popularity as a spectator & participation sport about the same time.

Badminton in the US continues to be plagued by this image problem. TV coverage is usually lmited to the wee hours of the morning during the Olympics (it's only been a medal sport since '92). Even then, it has been difficult to find during the Olympics (TV listings would often indicate that it would be shown at some unspecified time during an 8 -hour period -- like 11pm to 7am). Since the US only has a few world-class players in recent years and we only rarely make it past the 2nd round, it is not given priority for TV coverage -- only the odd story here and there (usually late at night).

USA Badminton (formerly USBA and ABA) has not done a very good job of promoting the sport in this country (in part, because of money and badminton politics).
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'Back in the day' I played collegiate intramural badminton with a pro football linebacker who used the sport to help stay in shape during the off-season. The guy was 6'6", about 245lbs. and all muscle ... very agile, as well as powerful.
 
It's a shame, I love badminton and it would be great if the game got more publicity. But it seems to be doing well in Asia though, almost all the top players in the modern pro badminton tour are Asians, bar Peter Gade.
 
Hidious said:
Lame. You don't play tennis on your driveway, why would you play badminton in your backyard?
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I play tennis in my front driveway and badminton in my back yard.

Ok, so I play with little kids with TIPS1 balls and mom's car is the sideline. But still... We play!
 
I have played Badminton. It is much more tiring than tennis, but then it could have been my bad form.

Frankly, I find it boring to watch and play. I like balls - things that roll and bounce. I don't like things that just die.

Also, in purely practical terms, practising badminton means picking up the birdie after every shot. It ain't going to bounce off something and come back to you, you can't keep extra ones in your pockets, and you can't give to the other person by just tapping it with the frame. Very irritating.
 
sureshs said:
I have played Badminton. It is much more tiring than tennis, but then it could have been my bad form.

Frankly, I find it boring to watch and play. I like balls - things that roll and bounce. I don't like things that just die.

Also, in purely practical terms, practising badminton means picking up the birdie after every shot. It ain't going to bounce off something and come back to you, you can't keep extra ones in your pockets, and you can't give to the other person by just tapping it with the frame. Very irritating.
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It is a great driveway game with little kids because the don't roll away into the street.
 
Another irritating thing about badminton is that most of the time you are looking up. Very awkward. And irritating for a person with glasses like me.
 
PaulC said:
For those who never seen a world-class competition badminton match:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsgudshvFPc

We're lucky that we don't have a lot of badminton player trying tennis... imagine their 130+mph smashes turning into 130 mph tennis serve!
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A badmintion racquet is light ( average weight is 85 gm) which makes it easier to swing fast and the shuttle is made aerodynamic so it can reach 130+ mph speeds AND a badminton court is small !!!
Compare to Tennis: tennis racquets that pro use : about 330 to 370 gms average weight; tennis balls have felt to increase the air drag and slow the balls, and the court is bigger.

I would like to see a badmintion pro try to hit a 130 mph serve !
 
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subz said:
A badmintion racquet is light ( average weight is 85 gm) which make is easier swing fast and the shuttle is made aerodynamic so it can reach 130+ mph speeds AND a badminton court is small !!!
Compare to Tennis: tennis racquets that pro use : about 330 to 370 gms average weight; tennis balls have felt to increase the air drag and slow the balls, and the court is bigger.

I would like to see a badmintion pro try to hit a 130 mph serve !
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Well, why don't you account for the fact that heavier racquet = bigger force upon impact ==> faster speed. Why not see some tennis pro smash a shuttle at 130mph with a tennis racquet then? They're not the same so make no sense to try to make one sounds better than the other. Badminton is more of a reflex game than tennis, while tennis required better coordination imo.
 
sureshs said:
Another irritating thing about badminton is that most of the time you are looking up. Very awkward. And irritating for a person with glasses like me.
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Well don't let something as trivial as glasses spoil something as fun as badminton. Might I suggest contact lenses?
 
I love the coaching, the scoring system, the play is phenomenal......I wish tennis would change a few things
 
I think the the badminton spectators is partly to be blame, because their hostility , boos and screams tarnish the sports image. If you seldom watch it and somehow came across one in your TV channel, by the sound of it, you might think you are watching illegal/underground fighting/boxing. Even if it's visually exhiting and fast pace, the spectators immediately turn it into unpleasant watching experience.

I think Badminton requires more mental toughness than any other sports, the quality required to withstand the hostile behavious from crowd is phenomeal. If you think Davis Cup, French open, Soccer or WWE has the worst crowd, wait till you watch badminton match. The crowd freaking Boos, scream, whistles the player from start to finish nonstop. Furthermore, it's played in indoor courts , so any sound is magnified 10X.

Yes, sport players must have psychological qualities and mental toughness to deal with opposing nasty crowd, but badminton has gone way too far on this one.



P/S: If the match is played on european, then it's still relatively peaceful. but If it's played in Asia, in particular South east Asia, Especially Indonesia, then expect a very obnoxious reception if you're not the home crowd player !!!
 
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subz said:
You have tennis on the list ? Sir tennis is not boring to watch... baseball is fine as well. And Nascar becomes fun if there are accidents :)

Badmintion is boring ...this is supposed to be an exciting rally:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McnuGqnumOA

But I couldnt watch the whole video...you know why?
... I fell asleep !
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A very high percentage of people who've not played tennis would undoubtedly find it boring. Baseball is fine!!! You just lost all credibility. Try playing badminton for a few months and see if you don't change your attitude. You obviously have played very little and thus have no appreciation for the excellent rally that you provided.


subz said:
A badmintion racquet is light ( average weight is 85 gm) which make is easier swing fast and the shuttle is made aerodynamic so it can reach 130+ mph speeds AND a badminton court is small !!!
Compare to Tennis: tennis racquets that pro use : about 330 to 370 gms average weight; tennis balls have felt to increase the air drag and slow the balls, and the court is bigger.

I would like to see a badmintion pro try to hit a 130 mph serve !
Click to expand...

Yes, the rackets are lighter (while 80-85 gm rackets were very popular some years back, most competitive rackets are now in the 85-95 gm range). This means that they are capable of achieving very high racket head speeds. In order to achieve smash speeds of 180 to 200+ mph requires technique and a good deal of fast-twitch muscle fibers. There is absolutely no reason to believe that many elite badminton players who smash at these speeds could not learn to hit a tennis serve as high velocities as well.

Badminton court might be smaller but badminton rallies, like table tennis rallies, are quicker than (court) tennis. The shuttle comes back sooner than a tennis ball would in a rally-- probably less than 1 second much of the time (whereas a tennis ball usually returns in a little more than 1 sec). Because of this badminton requires quicker reflexes. It is much, much harder to cover that smaller court than you realize.

The shuttle is not really more aerodynamic. It is a very high-drag projectile. It may come off the racket in speed in excess of 180 mph but it actually travels backward (with the cork end trailing) for a short time when it first comes off the racket strings. When it first turns around the feathers are somewhat streamlined but become less so as the shuttle flies thru the air -- the produces more drag (and a bit of a braking action). Despite this high drag, a high speed smash will still get to the other side in a very short time.
.
 
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mtommer said:
I love the coaching, the scoring system, the play is phenomenal......I wish tennis would change a few things
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I'm not a huge fan of rally scoring. Most current tournament players play the newer (2006) rally scoring. However, most people on open gyms play the older classic (15-pt) scoring. Retired tournament players, like me, tend to prefer the drama and the longer games of classic scoring (unless they are out of shape). I would not mind rally scoring as much if it was lengthened to 25 points or more (like volleyball).

I much prefer the serving restriction under the classic scoring rules. The new rules tends to foster illegal drive serves.
 
I dont even know how to play badmitton and i dont really want to.
 
theanh said:
Well, why don't you account for the fact that heavier racquet = bigger force upon impact ==> faster speed. Why not see some tennis pro smash a shuttle at 130mph with a tennis racquet then? They're not the same so make no sense to try to make one sounds better than the other. Badminton is more of a reflex game than tennis, while tennis required better coordination imo.
Click to expand...


Agree with most of this. At the beginning levels, tennis definitely requires better coordination. Badminton is much easier to play at the beginning and low intermediate levels. However at higher levels, this is no longer true. It seems apparent that subz has not spent very much time on the badminton court and is making flawed generalizations cuz he doesn't know any better.

Did some quick calculations. The weight of tennis ball is about 18% of an 11 oz tennis racket. The weight of a badminton shuttle (~5 gm) is less than 6% of a 90 gm racket. The faster arm (& racket) speed and the relative weights are the reasons why a shuttle initially comes off the racket faster on a badminton smash than a tennis ball on a flat serve (or smash).

Badminton also has a much greater dynamic range than tennis and most other sports -- it utilizes a projectile that can attain the fastest speeds but it also can move at very slow speeds (and still go over the net) -- less than 1 mph on a delicate touch shot?
 
Parker512 said:
I dont even know how to play badmitton and i dont really want to.
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You won't be missed. (won't miss your spelling of badminton either).


phoenicks said:
I think the the badminton spectators is partly to be blame, because their hostility , boos and screams tarnish the sports image. If you seldom watch it and somehow came across one in your TV channel, by the sound of it, you might think you are watching illegal/underground fighting/boxing. Even if it's visually exhiting and fast pace, the spectators immediately turn it into unpleasant watching experience.

I think Badminton requires more mental toughness than any other sports, the quality required to withstand the hostile behavious from crowd is phenomeal. If you think Davis Cup, French open, Soccer or WWE has the worst crowd, wait till you watch badminton match. The crowd freaking Boos, scream, whistles the player from start to finish nonstop. Furthermore, it's played in indoor courts , so any sound is magnified 10X.

Yes, sport players must have psychological qualities and mental toughness to deal with opposing nasty crowd, but badminton has gone way too far on this one.


P/S: If the match is played on european, then it's still relatively peaceful. but If it's played in Asia, in particular South east Asia, Especially Indonesia, then expect a very obnoxious reception if you're not the home crowd player !!!
Click to expand...

Good points here. People on these forums have been critical of the US Open tennis crowds in NY. However, their behavior pales in comparison to some of the badminton crowds you speak of. I've even seen chair umpire reprimand Beijing crowds for poor conduct/sportsmanship.

Not much of a problem in the US since we don't have crowds very often watching badminton matches. Form what I've seen, badminton spectators in the UK and Denmark are pretty well behaved. I imagine other parts of Europe might be similar.

On the other hand, futbol (soccer) crows in Europe can be very unruly. Ditto for some American sports -- football, baseball, etc.
 
SystemicAnomaly said:
Agree with most of this. At the beginning levels, tennis definitely requires better coordination. Badminton is much easier to play at the beginning and low intermediate levels. However at higher levels, this is no longer true. It seems apparent that subz has not spent very much time on the badminton court and is making flawed generalizations cuz he doesn't know any better.
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Badminton cannot be compared to tennis ! Tennis requires so much skill and hardwork to play at an advance level... Tennis has a certain charm: people who dont even play tennis, will watch a tennis match...can you say the same for badminton ? How many famous badminton players do general public know of ? Do you know of a badminton player who is the face of a big brand like Roger is for Nike or Rolex ?
Badminton will NEVER be as famous as Tennis ! So deal with it ! You know why ? Because its not entertaining to watch !

Badminton, I am certain, at an advance level requires a lot of skill BUT so do other sports like squash and table tennis ....
 
I played badminton a couple of times and hated the game. I hate people who like badminton...I hate them so much that I want to beat them with their racquets ...but the badminton racquets are so fragile that I wont be able to seriously hurt them...and that will make me more angry...I will wrap them with the net and set them on fire :) I will pluck the feathers from the shuttle and make a warbonnet....I will wear it and dance around the burned corpses :)
 
SystemicAnomaly said:
I'm not a huge fan of rally scoring. Most current tournament players play the newer (2006) rally scoring. However, most people on open gyms play the older classic (15-pt) scoring. Retired tournament players, like me, tend to prefer the drama and the longer games of classic scoring (unless they are out of shape). I would not mind rally scoring as much if it was lengthened to 25 points or more (like volleyball).

I much prefer the serving restriction under the classic scoring rules. The new rules tends to foster illegal drive serves.
Click to expand...

I agree, I enjoyed the longer matches with the old point system where you only earn points on serve. Still don't know why they changed the rules...

subz said:
I played badminton a couple of times and hated the game. I hate people who like badminton...I hate them so much that I want to beat them with their racquets ...but the badminton racquets are so fragile that I wont be able to seriously hurt them...and that will make me more angry...I will wrap them with the net and set them on fire :) I will pluck the feathers from the shuttle and make a warbonnet....I will wear it and dance around the burned corpses :)
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uh huh...
 
I played badminton at quite a high level (county level here iin the UK up to university), and now that I have started tennis, I would say any comparison saying badminton is easy, boring etc is flawed.

Badminton I recall being much more demanding, and needed a much higher level of fitness, though granted my tennis level is quite a lot below my badminton level was.

Anyway, as with most things, when you play a sport to a decent level, you really appreciate watching the pro's. I really enjoy watching badminton.

Those belittling a sport because they have not played it and just have no interest in really show their ignorance of the skill required in it.

Fair enough if you dont find it interesting but don't claim that to be a top badminton player requires less skill strength fitness stamina etc than an elite tennis player.
 
most DEMANDING, not most difficult, there is a slight difference.


I dont know if you can infer from that that it is harder to be an elite archer (ranked 55th out of 60) than say an elite tennis player.

Interesting analysis though, not sure exactly what it is telling us.
 
Badminton more demanding than tennis? Requires a higher level of fitness? Badminton is just a bunch of lunges are you kidding me... If you just started tennis then you have no clue what kind of levels of fitness tennis requires. You can say badminton requires better reflexes but fitness??? LOL.
 
jdawgg said:
Badminton more demanding than tennis? Requires a higher level of fitness? Badminton is just a bunch of lunges are you kidding me... If you just started tennis then you have no clue what kind of levels of fitness tennis requires. You can say badminton requires better reflexes but fitness??? LOL.
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They both require high levels of aerobic and anaerobic fitness. Consider this -- the shuttle in badminton is in play nearly 50% of the time whereas it is closer to 20% for a tennis ball. The intensity for competitive badminton is quite a bit greater -- a higher caloric expenditure per hour.

Yes, badminton is extremely demanding. I'll talk about this more in my next post.

.
 
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subz said:
I played badminton a couple of times and hated the game. I hate people who like badminton...I hate them so much that I want to beat them with their racquets ...but the badminton racquets are so fragile that I wont be able to seriously hurt them...and that will make me more angry...I will wrap them with the net and set them on fire :) I will pluck the feathers from the shuttle and make a warbonnet....I will wear it and dance around the burned corpses :)
Click to expand...

Are you off your meds again? Perhaps a frontal lobotomy would eliminate the need for pharmaceuticals. :evil:

subz said:
Badminton cannot be compared to tennis ! Tennis requires so much skill and hardwork to play at an advance level... Tennis has a certain charm: people who dont even play tennis, will watch a tennis match...can you say the same for badminton ? How many famous badminton players do general public know of ? Do you know of a badminton player who is the face of a big brand like Roger is for Nike or Rolex ?
Badminton will NEVER be as famous as Tennis ! So deal with it ! You know why ? Because its not entertaining to watch !

Badminton, I am certain, at an advance level requires a lot of skill BUT so do other sports like squash and table tennis ....
Click to expand...

It's become even more apparent that you've no idea what you are talking about. Trying it a couple of times is not even worth mentioning -- you've not really experienced badminton.

I suspect that you are from the US (as am I) and so not have a global perspective of sports at all. In some parts of the world badminton is much more popular than tennis. In China, much of South-East Asia, Denmark, the UK and in other parts of Europe the top badminton players are very well known.

Even Martina Hingis was recently seen at the 2010 Badminton World Championships in Paris. In fact, many of the tennis greats of the past and present have been badminton players. Here is a story that appeared in the NY Times last year:

How Badminton Helped Federer’s Game

According to some sources, badminton, as a participation sport, easily surpasses tennis. According to a 2002 study, badminton had an estimated 200 million participants while tennis had a mere 60 million.

The World's Most Popular Sports

So you indicate that tennis requires skill and hard work to play at an advanced level. Badminton requires no less skill to play at an elite level. As far as hard work goes, many elite Asian badminton players retire from singles play by 26 or so simply because the sport & training is so vigorous & demanding. Contrast this with most elite tennis players who usually retire from tennis around 29 or in their early 30s.

For myself and other that I know, badminton is very hard on the body -- shoulders, knees, ankles, etc. Quite a few of my friends have had to give up badminton because their shoulder or knees can no longer take the abuse. Yet they are still able to participate in tennis. While my shoulder bothers me in tennis, it really bothers me when playing badminton. This is because so much of badminton requires overhead shots and a lot of quick preparation movements involving the shoulder.
.
 
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subz said:
I played badminton a couple of times and hated the game. I hate people who like badminton...I hate them so much that I want to beat them with their racquets ...but the badminton racquets are so fragile that I wont be able to seriously hurt them...and that will make me more angry...I will wrap them with the net and set them on fire :) I will pluck the feathers from the shuttle and make a warbonnet....I will wear it and dance around the burned corpses :)
Click to expand...
Perhaps you are tougher than the pro football linebacker I mentioned earlier? Once again, he used badminton to stay in shape during the off season. He played 8 years in the NFL and was all muscle ... but hey, whatever.
 
jdawgg said:
Badminton more demanding than tennis? Requires a higher level of fitness? Badminton is just a bunch of lunges are you kidding me... If you just started tennis then you have no clue what kind of levels of fitness tennis requires. You can say badminton requires better reflexes but fitness??? LOL.
Click to expand...

Badminton is very demanding. Try it. It is not only lunges, but jumps. Too many abrupt starts and stops.

I need to start playing it again after many many years.

But the reasons I probably won't are what I already outlined in a previous post - basically, I love balls. Then, you may ask - what about table tennis? I do play that sometimes, but I don't like playing indoors - which is another reason I don't like badminton. Would you rather be playing inside instead of outdoors in the fresh air?

But probably the overriding reason is the players themselves. I have found table tennis and badminton players to form a clique and exclude outsiders, while tennis has a rich tradition of social inclusion and etiquette.
 
sureshs said:
Badminton is very demanding. Try it. It is not only lunges, but jumps. Too many abrupt starts and stops...
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True dat. Tons of quick footwork -- lunges, hops, jumps, directional changes, etc


sureshs said:
... I do play that sometimes, but I don't like playing indoors - which is another reason I don't like badminton. Would you rather be playing inside instead of outdoors in the fresh air?

But probably the overriding reason is the players themselves. I have found table tennis and badminton players to form a clique and exclude outsiders, while tennis has a rich tradition of social inclusion and etiquette.
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I'm a shade worshipper myself. Tend to play tennis in the evening or early in the morning. Playing inddors doesn't bother me at all.

I agree ... too many cliques that exclude outsiders when it comes to badminton. There are some cliques in tennis as well, but around here, most some to be willing to let in outsiders. The badmminton cliques in these parts, sad to say, is mostly racial cliques.

I've had the biggest problem with Chinese players (but not so much with American-Chinese). Ironically, even tho' I'm largely Caucasian, I've got a bit of Chinese ancestory. Have also had some problems with some of the Vietnamese players as well. Wasn't a problem some years back when there was only a small percentage playing in the gyms around here. But with larger numbers, many (but not all) tend to exclude outsiders. Not seen much of this at all with players from Europe, Australia, India, Pakistan and Japan.
 
SystemicAnomaly said:
True dat. Tons of quick footwork -- lunges, hops, jumps, directional changes, etc




I'm a shade worshipper myself. Tend to play tennis in the evening or early in the morning. Playing inddors doesn't bother me at all.

I agree ... too many cliques that exclude outsiders when it comes to badminton. There are some cliques in tennis as well, but around here, most some to be willing to let in outsiders. The badmminton cliques in these parts, sad to say, is mostly racial cliques.

I've had the biggest problem with Chinese players (but not so much with American-Chinese). Ironically, even tho' I'm largely Caucasian, I've got a bit of Chinese ancestory. Have also had some problems with some of the Vietnamese players as well. Wasn't a problem some years back when there was only a small percentage playing in the gyms around here. But with larger numbers, many (but not all) tend to exclude outsiders. Not seen much of this at all with players from Europe, Australia, India, Pakistan and Japan.
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Only the cool asian kids with the yonex rackets gets to chill with these guys :)
 
SystemicAnomaly said:
I've had the biggest problem with Chinese players (but not so much with American-Chinese). Ironically, even tho' I'm largely Caucasian, I've got a bit of Chinese ancestory. Have also had some problems with some of the Vietnamese players as well. Wasn't a problem some years back when there was only a small percentage playing in the gyms around here. But with larger numbers, many (but not all) tend to exclude outsiders. Not seen much of this at all with players from Europe, Australia, India, Pakistan and Japan.
Click to expand...

Didn't want to go there, but that is exactly why I stopped playing table tennis. The cliques were also made of cheats who would not yield to a waiting player when their matches finished. They would restart the game with a fictional low score and keep playing.

I hope badminton draws a better crowd. I need to try it out.
 
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