Badminton

Badminton is known as the world’s fastest racquet sport and the atmosphere in Singapore will be exhilarating. With the Asian nations dominating the sport globally this is proving to be one of the most popular sports for ticket sales.

While contemporary badminton first appeared in England in the mid-1800s after developing in India, the game had its roots in the ancient civilisations of Europe and Asia with a game called battledore (bat or paddle) and shuttlecock. By the 1600s battledore and shuttlecock were popular in England and the rest of Europe.

Badminton became an Olympic sport in Barcelona in 1992, after being a demonstration sport in Munich in 1972.

Qualification

A maximum of 64 players (32 boys and 32 girls) will compete in the Youth Olympic Games tournament. Of the 32 per event, 23 come from Regional Qualifications, a further eight from NOC Universality and Singapore as the host nation.

NOCs that have athletes ranked in the top seven in the world are allowed two entrants.

The two athletes competing at the YOG are bound to benefit greatly from this experience.

Rules / Competition Format

The format is a combined pool and knock-out tournament with two events: boys’ singles and girls’ singles. The players will initially play each other on a round-robin basis in eight pools of four players. The eight winners will play a knock-out competition. A losing player in the knock-out competition will only contest yet another match if they are losing semi-finalists and are playing for the bronze.

Scoring

A match consists of the best of three games. A game shall be won by the athlete who first scores 21 points. A point is awarded to the winner of each rally, which is an unbroken sequence of strokes from the service until a player fails to make a valid return. The winner of the point becomes the next server.

If the score becomes 20-all, the side which gains a two point lead first, shall win that game. If the score becomes 29-all, the side scoring the 30th point shall win that game. The side winning a game serves first in the next game.

Venue - Singapore Indoor Stadium

The Indoor Stadium is Singapore’s largest and most versatile indoor sports and entertainment venue. Officially opened in December 1989, the stadium has a flexible arena that can be arranged to accommodate both small (2,500 spectators) and large crowds (up to 12,000 spectators).

The Stadium has been used for various major sport events, entertainment events and concerts performed by international superstars such as Elton John and Janet Jackson. In 1999 and 2000, the stadium hosted the Tennis’ Heineken Open, and welcomed players such as Marcelo Rios and Lleyton Hewitt.

Australia and Olympic Badminton

Twenty-five Australians have competed in badminton at the Olympic Games. While none have managed a podium finish, Rhonda Cator is our most successful representative competing at three Games - Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.

The Singapore Indoor Stadium is also no stranger to world-class badminton action. The Aviva Singapore Open is a high-profile tournament that has been held there since 2004.