Badminton

Badminton probably came from an old children's game called "battledore and shuttlecock".The battledore is a small wooden bat which the player uses to hit the shuttlecock.The game was popular in India and other Asian countries, and the aim was to keep the shuttlecock in the air as long as possible.British army officers played the game in India in the 1860s and they added a net to hit the shuttlecock over.They called the game "Poona".

When the officers returned to England they continued enjoying poona.The game was renamed badminton at a garden party at the home of the Duke of Beaufort in 1873.His home was called Badminton House.By 1877 the first governing body, The Badminton Association of England, was set up.The Badminton Club of New York began in 1878, although the game did not become popular until the 1930s.