• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / World / Where Was Badminton Invented?

Where Was Badminton Invented?

July 19, 2020 by Karen Hill

“Badminton” sounds like an English name, so you might guess that the game is an English invention. Yet badminton, similar to tennis but played with a light “ball” called a bird, actually comes from India!

British soldiers played this game while they were stationed in India. They called it poona, after the name of an Indian city. Some of these soldiers returned to England and taught the game to friends.

In 1873, the Duke of Beaufort played the game at a party at his country estate, which was called Badminton. The sport became known as the “game at Badminton”. By the time the rules of the game were first written down in 1887, it was known simply as badminton.

Badminton is similar to an old game, called battledore and shuttlecock, that was played for many years in England. This game was played with a paddle, called a battledore, rather than the racket used in badminton.

We still use the word shuttlecock for the badminton bird, which was once made from goose feathers. A badminton bird weighs only about one-sixth of an ounce!

Related Facts

  • How Did Badminton Get Its Name?
  • History of Golf
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed Our Lives Forever
  • History of Playing Cards
  • The Best 20 Inventions Ever Invented
  • How Did the Shuttlecock Get Its Name and Where Does the Word “Shuttlecock” Come From?

Filed Under: World

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What Is the Mystery of the Iron Pillar of Delhi India?
Next Post: Why Does The Madurai Temple in India Have 30 Million Idols? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy