when did badminton become an Olympic sport? Badminton was introduced as an official sport at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. After several debuts, badminton made it to the Olympics and has an official title at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Over 1.1 billion watched its Olympic debut on TV.
Badminton in the Olympics
The Badminton tournament was held from 28 July to 4 August 1992. It was held in four categories including men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, and women’s doubles.
Which Country Won the First Badminton Olympics?
- A. China
- B. Japan
- C. Korea
- D. United States
Badminton took place in the Pavelló de la Mar Bella. In this event, thirty-six nations participated as competitors, with a total of 177 participants. Asian countries won fifteen out of sixteen medals.
Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen(a non-Asian) from Denmark won the men’s singles. 56 players from 32 nations participated in men’s singles.
In Olympic history, the champion of the women’s singles was honored with the first official badminton medal. This medal was also the first gold medal for Indonesia. Earlier the country received a silver medal in archery. Fifty-two players from 27 nations participated in women’s singles. Mixed doubles were introduced after four years in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Both men’s singles(Alan Budikusuma) and Women’s singles(Susi Susanti) were winners who got married.
Important Badminton Facts That You Should Know
- Badminton was originally an upper-class pastime during the 1800s.
- The Bath Badminton Club was the first official badminton club, founded in 1877.
- In the late 19th century, badminton was introduced in the USA. It became one of the favorite sports in the 1930s.
- Badminton has been called in many names such as Battledore, Shuttlecock, and Poona.
- The world’s largest badminton is located on the Kansas City Museum’s lawn. Its weight is 2500 Kg and stands 8 feet tall.
- The longest match recorded in badminton was 124 minutes, and the match was between Sun Jun from China and Peter Rasmussen from Denmark.
- The shortest match of badminton only lasted for six minutes.
- Badminton made its debut in Commonwealth Games Sport in 1996.
- The first badminton competition was held in 1898 in the English town of Guilford.