If you’re looking for a way to stay fit, have fun and feel good; then Badminton is the sport for you. Badminton is a sport enjoyed by many, for years. It can be played with two people- singles, or with 4 people- doubles. Over the years, the sport of Badminton has evolved and developed and now is one of the most competitive sports in the world. Talking about Badminton makes a great dinner conversation too!

1. Badminton is the fastest racket sport in the world

Yes, you read the correctly! Contrary to what people believe, Badminton is the fastest racket sport in the world. In 2013, Yonex, the world’s biggest Badminton racket producer, contacted top Malaysian player, Tan Boon Heong. They wanted him to break the Guinness World Record of the fastest Badminton smash, using their racket. Tan was able to hit a record setting 493kmph Badminton smash, using the Yonex Nanoray Z-Speed.

When it comes to the fastest smash hit ,by a player in an actual competition, it belongs to Denmark’s Mads Kolding. During the Indian Premier League in India, Kolding scored a shot at 426 kmph! You can see Kolding setting the world record for yourself :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa-YHbzrhFw

2. Playing Badminton burns lots of calories 

Badminton is such an intense sport that it tends to burn a lot of calories. Badminton is a combination of running, jumping, lunging, twisting and turning. The sheer speed and quick reaction time required, makes this sport an intense one.

On an average, an hour of playing Badminton make one burn approximately 544 calories. Obvi-ously factors like weight, age, intensity of play make a huge difference and the calories burned could vary. Professionals will burn more calories due the intensity of play as compared to a recreational player.

3. Badminton is more intense than Tennis

It is believed that Tennis is harder to play than Badminton. The stamina required to play a Badminton match vs a Tennis match is much more. The high energy and quick movements required in Badminton are greater than in Tennis. On average, a Badminton player runs 5.95km to play a game of singles. Whereas a Tennis player covers a distance of 2.89km while playing singles, making the distance covered in Badminton is twice as much as Tennis.

On an average, in a match 1004 shots are played in a Tennis match. Whereas in Badminton, it is 1972 shots. It is interesting to note that a Badminton match gets over in half the time of that of a Tennis match; yet the distance covered in Badminton is twice as much.

4. Badminton is the second most popular sport in the world

Football is a definitely a fan favourite. Millions across the world love to watch and play Football. But have you wondered after Football which sport is the most popular? Badminton. It definitely is Badminton. When Badminton was first introduced at the Olympics in 1992, 1.1 billion people turned on their TVs to watch this mighty sport. How cool is that? It is played by so many people across the globe but majority of players are from Asia. 

 Badminton has an extremely rich history that is prevalent to date. It is interesting to learn and watch about Badminton; but it is even more fun to play. Once you start you won’t want to stop. We hope these exciting Badminton facts make you want run to the court and start your Badminton journey!