Badminton is one of the most popular and widely played racquet sports in the world. It is a fast-paced, strategic game that requires quick reflexes, excellent coordination, and intense concentration. In recent years, the badminton governing bodies have made some changes to the rules of the game to make it more exciting and to help ensure fair competition. In this article, we will take a look at the new general rules of badminton and how they are changing the game.
The Basics
The basics of badminton remain the same: two players or teams of two compete against each other to score points. The object of the game is to hit the shuttlecock (or “birdie”) over the net and into the opponent’s court, using racquets. The team or player that scores the most points wins the game.
Serving
The server must serve from behind the baseline and the receiver must be ready before the service. The server must hit the shuttlecock so that it passes over the net and into the receiver’s court. If the server does not do this, it is called a “fault” and the receiver wins the point. The server must also keep both feet behind the baseline until the shuttlecock is hit.
Returning
When the receiver returns the shuttlecock, the server must hit it before it touches the ground. If the receiver returns the shuttlecock and it touches the ground before the server can hit it, then the receiver wins the point. If the server hits the shuttlecock and it goes over the net, but fails to pass into the receiver’s court, then the receiver also wins the point.
Scoring
The team or player who wins the point also wins the rally. The first team or player to reach 11 points wins the game, unless both teams or players reach 10 points, in which case the team or player who reaches 2 points ahead wins the game.
New Rules
In recent years, the International Badminton Federation (IBF) and the Badminton World Federation (BWF) have made some changes to the rules of badminton in order to make the game more exciting and to help ensure fair competition. These new rules include:
Let Serve
In a let serve, the server is allowed to re-serve if the shuttlecock touches the net after being served. This rule is meant to prevent the server from deliberately hitting the shuttlecock into the net in order to gain an advantage.
Two-Point Rule
Under the two-point rule, the first team or player to reach 21 points wins the game, unless both teams or players reach 20 points, in which case the team or player who reaches 2 points ahead wins the game. The two-point rule is meant to make the game more exciting and to reduce the number of long rallies.
Timeouts
Under the new rules, each team or player is allowed to call a timeout of up to one minute during each game. This rule is meant to give players a chance to rest and to strategize during long rallies.
Conclusion
The new rules of badminton are designed to make the game more exciting and to ensure fair competition. The new rules include the let serve, the two-point rule, and the timeout rule. These rules are meant to help make badminton more accessible and enjoyable for players of all levels.