OUTDOOR BADMINTON: Popular but is it Official? AirBadminton for you

        

AirBadminton (Pic Source: bwfbadminton.com)

Love playing Badminton?  Play well? But don’t have a court near you? Well, don’t worry! Here’s what BWF has for you…
 

Badminton is a sport which is loved all over the world, isn’t it? Yup, professionalism and success in the sport is centered mainly in Eastern Asia and South-Eastern Asia but as a recreational purpose this sport has his span all over the world. Be it a chilly afternoon or a weekend trip or some break from hectic schedule, more or less everyone loves to hit a shuttle. Well, there are so many masters of Badminton out there who do not play it seriously or do not have enough resources to play the proper ‘official’ version of this ‘indoor’ game. Wait, are you sure?

 

Here is a good news for you, which you may be didn’t know. Outdoor Badminton is now official. This version of the game is called AirBadminton . Badminton World Federation (BWF) launched this AirBadminton in association with Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) on May 13, 2019 in Guangzhou, China.

AirBadminton at Beach (Pic Source: badmintonoceania.org)

Major Aspect:

The major focus of AirBadminton is to make a Badminton-like sport as accessible as possible.  In simple words, they wanted to free badminton from the tentacles of place, person and every other obstacles, thus making every kind of Badminton as official and as respected as the conventional one.

 

So are the equipments same as the conventional one?

Well, the racquet is same but BWF has introduced separate shuttle: not feather obviously, as it catches wind to great extent, not like our known plastic or synthetic shuttle too. Yes it’s obviously a bit like the synthetic or plastic one but with bigger holes and less feather cage. It’s also heavier, stronger and durable.

AirShuttle: the AirBadminton Shuttle (Pic Source: bwfbadminton.com)

 

Is it really like you can play it anywhere?

Yes, anywhere. Simply,  anywhere. But yup, you obviously should avoid crowded place for other’s good and should avoid dangerous places for your good. Though conditions matter, as high wind speed can spoil your fun. BWF suggests to play it when and where the wind speed it less than 12 kmph.

Are the courts same?

No, there’s no third court and the second court is not divided into two parts.

Red AirBadminton courts beside green badminton courts (Pic Source: bwfbadminton.com)

Are the points system same?      

Well, scoring system of the points is same. There’s no conventional rule for points and game and match break up. Though, BWF suggests to play five setter games of 11 points each and asks to change court-end after leader reaches to 6 points and also after every game i.e. to change the court twice in a game to avoid unwanted phase of biased help of the playing condition. If the scoring is 10-all, first player to take 2 points lead wins and if it goes on to 12-all, then the 13th point declares the winner.

 

the official video of bwfbadminton.com explaining the game

Are the other playing rules same?

Though most of them are same, one or two are different also. Like, the  whole second court of opponent’s half is available to serve in i.e. no centre line, no left or right service court. Except from singles and doubles like conventional Badminton, you can play triples ( with three player per side) too, in AirBadminton. But in triples, a player can not play two shots in a row for his team. This intensifies the game.

So, here’s AirBadminton, your very own form of Badminton. Well, some say, this form is quite tougher to master than the conventional one. Then obviously, don’t take it lightly, don’t take your skills lightly. Start smashing folks.

 

 

An article by: Arpan Purkait