General Rules of Playing Badminton

Badminton is an outdoor game played with racquets. A shuttlecock is hit across the net using racquets. This game can be played on rooftop, yards or even at beach. The use of shuttlecock makes this game unique from other ball used sports.

The game is played in the form of singles and doubles. In singles, only a single player from a side plays while in doubles, two players from a side pairs up, doubles can be mixed too.

Points are scored by hitting the shuttlecock. A feathered shuttlecock is used which is light and has a good flight. A player hits the shuttlecock using a racquet with the aim to land it opponent’s half and then the opponent hit it back, in this way the game is continued.

There are total of two breaks in the game. First is of 90 seconds after the first game and the second is of five minutes after the second game.

Badminton Court Dimensions:

The shape of a badminton court is a rectangular one. The dimensions of a court are 20 feet by 44 feet. Sidelines for both single and double games are marked in the court irrespective of the match.

The length of the court i.e. 44 feet remains same in both singles and doubles game. For singles game, width is reduced to 17 feet while for doubles games, the width is 22 feet. The center of the court is marked by center net which usually divides the court into two halves for two sides. The size of net is 5 feet tall.

Badminton Rules:

Players

• A match can be played between two players in the form of singles or four players in the form of doubles.

Court

• An official game is played indoor on a proper court fulfilling the rules of ground dimensions which are 20 feet by 44 feet while the net is set at 5.1 feet in the middle.

Toss

• Like other games, toss initiates a game and decides which player will make the first serve.
• Toss also decides the sides of the court for players, which side will be picked by the opponent to start the game at.

Serves

• Players serves diagonally to the opponent across the net.
• In case of poor serve, point is awarded to the opponent
• A legitimate serve must be hit under the arm and should not be above the server’s waist.
• Over the arm serves are illegal.

Point

• To score a point, shuttlecock must cross the net and land into opponent’s area missing the hit by opponent.
• If the shuttlecock goes outside the parameters or hit the net, then a point is given to the opponent.
• Fault
• Touching the net by body or racquet is strictly prohibited and it comes under a fault so any such act can award a point to the opponent.
• Distracting a player deliberately is also a fault.
• Before fling if a shuttlecock gets stuck into the racquet, it is also a fault
• Hitting the shuttlecock twice comes under fault.
• Messing up with the laws of badminton falls under the category of fault.

Referee

• A referee monitors the game sitting on a highchair. He also makes calls on infringements and faults.
• Two line judges are assigned to check the landing of shuttlecock (in or out).
• In case of any accidental or unforeseen situation, a referee calls let. It can be due to a bird coming to the court, shuttlecock caught in the bet or serving without turn.
• The continuous violation of the laws allows the referee to take away points of the player and persisting fouls results in receiving a forfeit of the set or the match.

Results

• To win the match, a player must win two out of three sets.
• To win a set a player must reach 21 points before the opponent.
• In case of 20 – 20 points situation then the player who score two straight points ahead wins the set.
• In case of a tie at 29 – 29, next point decides the winner of the set.

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