Some Basics of Badminton

Chapter 1 Some Basics of Badminton This chapter presents some basic information about badminton. It covers the history of badminton, the badminton court, a simplified version of the badminton rules, the Badminton World Federation, some important badminton events, and the badminton world ranking system. These topics have little to do with playing badminton, but they are necessary to have a good understanding of the badminton sport. In addition, these topics would be helpful for us to understand and enjoy badminton games. The contents in this chapter are mostly extracted from online sources with the references indicated. 1.1 History The history of the development of modern badminton is a very long and complex one. Below is a brief account of the history of the badminton game [1, 2]. Origins of the Game The sport of badminton has its origins in ancient civilizations in Europe and Asia. The ancient game, known as Battledore (bat or paddle) and Shuttlecock, probably originated more than 2,000 years ago, when the ancient Chinese played ti jian zi. In the 1600s, Battledore and Shuttlecock was an upper class pastime in England and many European countries. Battledore and Shuttlecock was simply two people hitting a shuttlecock back and forth with a simple bat for as many times as they could without allowing it to hit the ground. Contemporary Badminton A contemporary form of badminton, a game called Poon, was played in the 1800s in India, where a net was introduced and players hit the shuttlecock across the net. British officers in the mid 1800s took this game back to England and introduced it as a game for the guests of the Duke of Beaufort at his stately home Badminton in Gloucestershire, England, 7

8 CHAPTER 1. SOME BASICS OF BADMINTON where it became popular. (In this sense, the sport badminton is named after a place named Badminton ; it has nothing inherently bad.) In March 1898, the first Open Tournament was held at Guildford, and the first All England Championships were held in the following year. Denmark, the USA, and Canada became ardent followers of the game during the 1930s. IBF Established in 1934 In 1934, the International Badminton Federation (IBF), now known as Badminton World Federation (BWF), was formed. The initial members include England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Denmark, Holland, Canada, New Zealand, and France, with India joining as an affiliate in 1936. The first major IBF tournament was the Thomas Cup (the world men s team championships) in 1948. Since then, the number of world events has increased with the addition of the Uber Cup (the world womens team championships), World Championships (the world individual championships), Sudirman Cup (the world mixed team championships), World Junior Championships, and World Grand Prix Finals. Commonwealth Games Sport 1966 Badminton was introduced as a Commonwealth Games program sport in Kingston Jamaica in 1966 and has been part of every Commonwealth Games program since then. Initially all five disciplines were included singles (men, women), doubles (men, women), and mixed doubles. In later Commonwealth Games, the Teams Event was also included in the program. Olympic Games Sport 1992 Badminton is a relatively new Olympic Games sport. After being a demonstration sport in Munich in 1972, badminton became an Olympic sport in Barcelona in 1992 with the singles and doubles disciplines introduced for the first time in the Olympic Games. In Atlanta in 1996, a mixed doubles event was included, and this is the only mixed doubles event in all of the Olympic sports. The following countries have won medals in badminton at an Olympic Games since its introduction in 1992 China, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Russia. Strong counties in recent years Although initiated in England, competitive men s badminton has traditionally been dominated in Europe by Denmark. Since 1970s, Asian countries have become dominant in international competitions. China, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea are the nations, which have consistently produced world-class players in the past few decades, with China being the greatest force recently.

1.2. COURT 9 Figure 1.1: Dimensions of badminton court in units of centimeter. The length of the court is 13.40 m, and the width is 6.10 m for singles and 5.18 m for doubles. The diagonal of the full court has a length of 14.723 m, and that of the half court has a length of 8.469 m for singles and 9.061 m for doubles. All lines have a thickness of 4 cm and are considered interior during play. The net has a height of 1.550 m over the sidelines for doubles and of 1.524 m at the center of the court. The blue and green rectangles indicate service courts for singles and doubles, respectively. Due to symmetry of the court, there are four possible service courts for both singles and doubles. 1.2 Court Badminton court is where badminton is played. It has a rectangular shape, and the dimensions are shown in Figure 1.1. The length of the court is 13.40 m, and the width is 6.10 m for singles and 5.18 m for doubles. The diagonal of the full court has a length of 14.723 m, and that of the half court has a length of 8.469 m for singles and 9.061 m for doubles. All lines have a thickness of 4 cm and are considered interior during play. The net has a height of 1.550 m over the sidelines for doubles and of 1.524 m at the center of the court. The blue and green rectangles indicate service courts for singles and doubles, respectively. Due to symmetry of the court, there are four possible service courts for both singles and doubles the left and right service courts on both sides. In terms of materials, there are mainly two types of badminton courts [3], namely, wooden board courts and PVC/PU courts, as shown in Figure 1.2 (a) and (c). The structure of wooden board courts is shown in Figure 1.2(b), which includes, from bottom to top, cushion pads, wooden sleepers, and maple boards. The cushion pads and suspending maple boards allow absorption of the shock induced by the players movement so that less shock is absorbed by the players body (primarily the legs). Wooden board courts are widely used in universities and badminton clubs because of their satisfactory performance and relatively

10 CHAPTER 1. SOME BASICS OF BADMINTON Figure 1.2: (a) Wooden board court [4]; (b) Detailed structure of the wooden floor [5]; (c) PVC/PU court, which adds a layer of PVC/PU on top of the wooden floor [6]; (d) Detailed structure of the PVC/PU layer [7]. low cost. Oftentimes, the badminton courts are also used for other purposes, such as basketball and volleyball. The structure of PVC/PU courts involves an additional layer made of PVC/PU on top of wooden board courts. The structure of the PVC/PU layer is shown in Figure 1.2(d), which includes, from bottom to top, a PVC forming buffer layer, a fiberglass reinforced layer, a fiberglass layer, and a Vinyl wear layer. Compared to wooden board courts, PVC/PU courts provide better anti-slip features due to the Vinyl wear layer and better shock-absorption capabilities due to the addition of the PVC/PU layer. Because PVC/PU courts are more expensive, they are mainly used by professional associations and some clubs. The PVC/PU layer could be permanent, which means the court is solely for badminton, or temporary, as seen in professional tournaments, which are often played on basketball courts with a PVC/PU layer temporarily placed on the top. Besides wooden board courts and PVC/PU courts, occasionally I would see people playing badminton on concrete floor or other types of hard floors. The advice is not to play too hard on those types of floors because they provide no absorption of shock and the players knees could easily get injured. Regarding badminton court, there is an interesting phenomenon. That is, different players view of the court differ greatly even if they are playing on the same court. What a player sees depends largely on his/her level of skills and experience. Some players probably see nothing, because their minds are entirely concentrated on the shuttle flying in the air; some players might see the left and right courts or front and rear courts; professional players, however, mainly see the borderlines and corners of the court. It seems this type of phenomena exists everywhere Different people see different things even if they are looking at the

1.3. SIMPLIFIED RULES 11 same object. In this sense, although the eyes see, it is the mind (or experience) that determines what is seen. 1.3 Simplified Rules Similar to any other sports, there are rules governing the game of badminton. A detailed description of the rules is available in the Laws of Badminton (Appendix A). Below is an overview a simplified version of the rules [2, 8]. Scoring System A match consists of the best of 3 games of 21 points. Every time there is a serve, there is a point scored. The side winning a rally adds a point to its score. At 20 all, the side, which gains a 2 point lead first, wins that game. At 29 all, the side scoring the 30th point wins that game. The side winning a game serves first in the next game. Interval and Change of Ends When the leading score reaches 11 points, players have a 60-second interval. A 2-minute interval between two games is allowed. In the third game, players change ends when the leading score reaches 11 points. Singles At the beginning of the game (0-0) or when the servers score is even, the server serves from the right service court. When the servers score is odd, the server serves from the left service court. If the server wins a rally, the server scores a point and then serves again from the alternate service court. If the receiver wins a rally, the receiver scores a point and becomes the new server. They serve from the appropriate service court left if their score is odd, and right if it is even. Doubles A side has only one service. The service passes consecutively to the players. At the beginning of the game (0-0) or when the score is even, the server serves from the right service court. When it is odd, the server serves from the left service court.

12 CHAPTER 1. SOME BASICS OF BADMINTON Lets If the serving side wins a rally, the serving side scores a point and the same server serves again from the alternate service court. If the receiving side wins a rally, the receiving side scores a point. The receiving side becomes the new serving side. The players do not change their respective service courts until they win a point when their side is serving. If a let is called, the rally is stopped and replayed with no change to the score. Lets may occur because of some unexpected disturbance, such as a shuttle from a neighboring court landing on the court or the shuttle touching an overhead rail (commonly seen in small halls). If the receiver is not ready when the service is delivered, a let shall be called; yet, if the receiver attempts to return the shuttle, the receiver shall be judged to have been ready. 1.4 Badminton World Federation The Badminton World Federation (BWF) [9] is the international governing body for the sport of badminton. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation with nine member nations (Canada, Denmark, England, France, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales), the BWF has since expanded to 176 member nations around the world, as seen in Figure 1.3 (b) and Figure 1.3 (c). On September 24, 2006, at the Extraordinary General Meeting in Madrid, it was decided to adopt the new name Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF head office was located in Cheltenham, UK since its founding, but it was relocated to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 1, 2005. Its current president is Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen. The BWF works in cooperation with regional governing bodies to promote and develop the sport of badminton around the world. There are five regional badminton confederations, namely, the Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC), Badminton Europe (BE), Badminton Pan Am (BPA), Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA), and Badminton Oceania (BO), as shown in Figure 1.3 (b). 1.5 Important Events This section gives a brief introduction to some important badminton events sanctioned by the BWF. It is recommend that all badminton players have some knowledge about them. This information is also useful for those who watch badminton matches because we can search badminton matches by the tournaments names. (Yet, another way to search badminton matches is by the players names, which is probably preferred by those who are interested in some particular players.) In addition, knowing the important events allows us to be on the

1.5. IMPORTANT EVENTS 13 Figure 1.3: (a) The logo of the Badminton World Federation (BWF); (b) The five regional badminton confederations and their numbers of members; (c) Map of the World indicating the five regional badminton confederations. same page when discussing badminton matches with friends. In this section, we consider both the international and open badminton events. 1.5.1 International Events The international badminton events include the Badminton at the Summer Olympics, World Championships, World Junior Championships, Thomas Cup, Uber Cup, and Sudirman Cup. They are considered the most important events in the badminton field, because World Champion titles are awarded to the final winners in each of the five categories (i.e., men s singles, women s singles, men s doubles, women s doubles, and mixed doubles). The six international badminton events are discussed below. Badminton at the Summer Olympics [10] Badminton had its debut at the 1992 Summer Olympics and has been contested in 6 Olympiads. 63 different nations have appeared in the Olympic badminton competitions, with 19 appearing all 6 times. It is governed by the BWF. The 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich saw the first appearance of badminton, as a demonstration sport. Two decades later the sport debuted

14 CHAPTER 1. SOME BASICS OF BADMINTON in competition at the Barcelona 1992 games, where 4 events were held, with singles and doubles events for both men and women. Four medals were awarded in each event, including two bronzes. The next Olympics, Atlanta 1996, had 5 events with the addition of mixed doubles. There was also a playoff between the two semifinal losers to determine the sole winner of the bronze medal. This format has continued to 2016. The BWF s world ranking list is used to determine qualification for the Olympic tournament. For singles, 29 competitors are selected. For doubles, 19 pairs are selected. The general method of selection is by ranking, but the selection process stops once all qualification positions are filled. All players or pairs from the top 16 places on that list qualify, but each National Olympic Committee (NOC) can send a maximum of three players/pairs. Players and pairs through the 64th place on that ranking qualify, with the caveat that each NOC can send only two players/pairs from that portion of the list. Players and pairs ranked below that only qualify if they are the highest ranked competitors from their nation. In addition, one place in each of the singles events is awarded by the Tripartite Commission. There are also regulations on minimum representation. Each continent must have at least one player/pair. This is the highest ranked player/pair from that continent if none have qualified through the standard selection process. The host nation, if it has not already qualified two competitors, receives two slots as well, either two singles players or one pair. China, Denmark, Great Britain, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea are among the countries that have sent most badminton competitors to the Summer Olympics. Olympic badminton consists of a single-elimination tournament. Each match is played to the best of three games. Games are to 21 points. Rally scoring is used, meaning a player does not need to be serving to score. A player must win by two points or by being the first player to 30 points. BWF World Championships [11] The BWF World Championships, formerly known as IBF World Championships, also known as the World Badminton Championships, is a badminton tournament sanctioned by BWF. The tournament offers the most ranking points, together with the Summer Olympic Games. The winners will be crowned as the World Champions and awarded gold medals. However, it does not offer any prize money. The tournament started in 1977 and was held once every three years until 1983. However, the IBF faced difficulty in hosting the first two events as the World Badminton Federation, which later merged with the IBF to form one badminton federation, hosted the same tournament a year after the IBF World Championships with the same goals. Started 1985,

1.5. IMPORTANT EVENTS 15 the tournament became bi-annual and played once every two years until 2005. Starting 2006, the tournament was changed to an annual event on the BWF calendar with the goal to give more chances for the players to be crowned as official World Champions. However, the tournament will not be held once every four years to give way to the Summer Olympic Games. So far, only 20 countries have achieved at least a bronze medal in the tournament: ten in Asia, eight in Europe, one in North America, and one in Oceania. Africa is the only continent that has not won a medal. China, Indonesia, Denmark, and South Korea are the most successful countries in terms of winning medals in the BWF World Championships. BWF World Junior Championships [12] The BWF World Junior Championships (also known as the World Junior Badminton Championships) is a tournament organized by BWF since 1992 to crown the best junior badminton players (under 19 years old) in the world. The title winners are considered world junior champions. Some successful junior players continue to be successful in the adult stage. China, Malaysia, South Korea, and Thailand are the most successful countries in terms of winning medals in the BWF World Junior Championships. Thomas Cup [13] The Thomas Cup (also known as the World Men s Team Championships) is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the BWF. The championships have been conducted every two years since the 1982 tournament, amended from being conducted every three years since the first tournament held in 1948-1949. The Thomas Cup is named after Sir George Alan Thomas, a highly successful English badminton player of the early 1900s, who proposed the idea of holding the Thomas Cup, as a result of inspirations by the tennis s Davis Cup and football s (or soccer s) World Cup first held in 1930. The final phase of the tournament involves twelve teams competing at venues within a host nation and is played concurrently with the final phase of the world women s team championships, the Uber Cup (first held in 1956 1957). Since 1984, the two competitions have been held jointly at the various stages of play. Of the twenty-eight Thomas Cup tournaments held since 1948 1949, only four nations have won the title. Indonesia is the most successful team, having won the tournament thirteen times. China, which did not begin to compete until the 1982 series, follows Indonesia with nine titles, while Malaysia has won five titles. Thomas Cup and, to a lesser extent, Uber Cup are possibly the world s biggest and most prestigious regularly held badminton events in terms of player and fan interest. For many they trump major tournaments for individual competitors such as the venerable All England Championships, the BWF World Championships, and even the

16 CHAPTER 1. SOME BASICS OF BADMINTON badminton competitions at the Summer Olympics. Japan became the fourth nation to win the Thomas Cup after beating Malaysia 3-2 in the 2014 finals. The 2016 tournament was held in Kunshan, China. Uber Cup [14] The Uber Cup (also known as the World Women s Team Championships) is a major international badminton competition contested by women s national badminton teams. First held in 1956 1957 and contested at threeyear intervals, it has been contested every two years since 1984 when its scheduled times and venues were merged with those of the Thomas Cup (the World Men s Team Championships). The Uber Cup is named after a former British women s badminton player, Betty Uber, who in 1950 had the idea of hosting a women s event similar to that of the men. She also made the draw for the 1956 1957 inaugural tournament, which took place at Lytham St. Annes in Lancashire, England. The cup follows a similar format to that of the men s competition of the Thomas Cup. As of the 2014 tournament, China is the most successful country, having won the Uber Cup thirteen times. Japan is the second, having won it five times, followed by Indonesia and United States, each having won three times. The 2016 tournament was held in Kunshan, China. Sudirman Cup [15] The Sudirman Cup is the World Mixed Team Championships, which takes place every two years. There are five matches in every round: men and women s singles, men and women s doubles, and mixed doubles. The Sudirman Cup is named after Dick Sudirman, a former Indonesian badminton player and the founder of the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI). The first Sudirman Cup tournament took place in Bung Karno Stadium, Central Jakarta, Indonesia in May 24 29, 1989. Until 2003 the Sudirman Cup always took place alongside the World Badminton Championships (Individuals) before becoming a stand alone Championships for the first time in Eindhoven, Netherlands in 2003. There is no prize money in Sudirman Cup; players play for their respective countries and to earn BWF world ranking points and national prestige. The Sudirman Cup is an international competition that does not stage a qualification round. The competing teams are divided into 7 groups based on their performances. Only teams in group 1 will have a chance to lift the trophy as the teams in the other groups fight for promotion. The teams who finish last in the group will be relegated to the lower group, except the final group. Indonesia initially won the tournament in 1989. Throughout the history of the tournament, seven countries have reached through to the semifinal round in all tournaments of the Sudirman Cup, including China, Denmark, England, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and Japan.

1.5. IMPORTANT EVENTS 17 China is the most successful national team in the Sudirman Cup (10 victories), followed by Korea (3 victories) and Indonesia (1 victory). The Cup has never been won by a non-asian country; Denmark is the only European country that came close to winning it, in 1999 and 2011. 1.5.2 Open Events Badminton open events are divided into seven categories, namely, the Superseries Premier, Superseries, Grand Prix Gold, Grand Prix, International Challenge, International Series, and Future Series. They are discussed below following an order of decreasing number of World Ranking points awarded to them. BWF Superseries Premier and Superseries [16] The BWF Superseries, launched on December 14, 2006 and implemented in 2007, is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the BWF. A season of Superseries features twelve tournaments around the world, including five of them classified as Superseries Premier. Since 2011, the Superseries includes two levels of tournaments, namely, the Superseries Premier and the Superseries. The Superseries Premier tournaments offer more ranking points and more minimum total prize money. The top eight players/pairs in each of the five disciplines in the Superseries standing are invited to play the Superseries Masters Finals held at the end of the year. A Superseries tournament offers a minimum total prize money of $200,000 (USD); a Superseries Premier tournament offers a minimum total prize money of $350,000 (USD); a Superseries Masters Finals offers a minimum total prize money of $500,000 (USD). From 2014 onwards, a Superseries Premier tournament offers a minimum total prize money of $500,000 (USD), with a minimum increment $50,000 (USD) each year until 2017; a Superseries tournament offers a minimum total prize money of $250,000 (USD), with increment of $25,000 (USD) each year through 2017. The BWF Superseries Premier, Superseries, and Superseries Masters Finals offer prize money regardless of the round, from which a player is ousted, unless they go out in the qualification round. Starting from the 2008 season, the women s winners will receive an equal prize money amount as the men s winners. Information on the distribution of the prize money for BWF Superseries and Superseries Finals is available in Appendix C. Entries into the BWF Superseries must be made five weeks before the start of the tournament. Only 32 players/pairs will play in the main round. Among the 32 players/pairs, only eight players/pair will be seeded in each of the five disciplines. Each event will have 28 highest-ranked players/pairs in the World Ranking and four qualifiers. Prior to September 2008, 32 players/pairs can participate in qualifying rounds. Since then, only up to 16 players/pairs can participate in qualifying rounds, where the four highest-ranked players/pairs in the World Ranking will be seeded. This

18 CHAPTER 1. SOME BASICS OF BADMINTON change is to avoid a big strain between the qualifiers and the main events. Each Superseries tournament is held in six days, with the main round in five days. The Superseries Premier and Superseries tournaments offer ranking points to players based on the round a player/pair reaches. The Superseries Premier tournaments offer higher ranking points, second only to the level one tournaments (the Badminton at the Summer Olympics and BWF World Championships). The points are used for the World Ranking and also the Superseries standing to decide the top eight players/pairs to play in the Superseries Masters Finals. At the end of the Superseries circuit, the top eight players/pairs in the Superseries standing of each of the five disciplines, with the maximum of two players/pairs from the same member association, are invited to play the Superseries Masters Finals. In every three years, the BWF Council will review the countries that host a Superseries Premier and Super Series tournament. In history, 14 tournaments in 13 countries hosted at least a season of the series. China was the only country that has hosted the series twice in a season from 2007 to 2013. From the 2014 season, Australia stared to host a Superseries tournament. The current 12 BWF Superseries tournaments are shown in Figure 1.4. BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix [17] The BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix is a series of level three [after the level one (the Badminton at the Summer Olympics and BWF World Championships) and level two (the BWF Superseries Premier and Superseries)] badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the BWF since 2007. A Grand Prix Gold tournament offers a minimum total prize money of $120,000 (USD); a Grand Prix tournament offers a minimum total prize money of $50,000 (USD). The formula of prize money distribution is identical to Superseries tournament. The BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix series offers world ranking points according to the World Ranking system Appendix B. Information about the BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix tournaments from 2007 to 2016 is shown in Figure 1.5 BWF International Challenge [18] The BWF International Challenge is a series of level four badminton tournaments along with the International Series and Future Series, sanctioned by the BWF since 2007. An International Challenge tournament offers a minimum total prize money of $15,000 (USD). The BWF International Challenge series offers world ranking points according to the World Ranking system Appendix B. BWF International Series [19] The BWF International Series is a series of level four tournaments along with the International Challenge and Future Series, sanctioned by the

1.5. IMPORTANT EVENTS 19 Figure 1.4: BWF Superseries tournaments from 2007 to 2017, including seven Superseries tournaments (Australia Open, French Open, Hong Kong Open, India Open, Japan Open, Korea Open, and Singapore Open) and five Superseries Premier (All England Open, China Open, Denmark Open, Indonesia Open, and Malaysia Open). The Superseries Premier tournaments have more ranking points and more minimum total prize money than the Superseries tournaments.

20 CHAPTER 1. SOME BASICS OF BADMINTON Figure 1.5: BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix tournaments from 2007 to 2016.

1.6. WORLD RANKING SYSTEM 21 BWF since 2007. An International Series tournament offers a minimum total prize money of $5000 (USD). The BWF International Series offers world ranking points according to the World Ranking system Appendix B. BWF Future Series [20] The BWF Future Series is a series of level four tournaments along with the International Challenge and International Series, sanctioned by the BWF since 2007. The BWF Future Series offers world ranking points according to the World Ranking system Appendix B. As a summary, the above-mentioned badminton events (except the Badminton at the Summer Olympics and BWF World Junior Championships ) are classified into four levels, as shown in Table 1.1. The higher the level of a tournament, the more the prize money and the ranking points [21]. As some additional information, we shows some relevant logos in Figure 1.6, which include logos of (a) the Badminton at the Summer Olympics, (b) the 2015 BWF World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia (it changes every year), (c) the 2016 Thomas and Uber Cups in Kunshan, China (it changes every two years), and (d) the Sudirman Cup, (e) the BWF World Superseries, and (f) the BWF World Superseries Premier. 1.6 World Ranking System The BWF World Ranking and BWF World Junior Ranking are introduced to determine the strength of the badminton players. The BWF World Ranking is used to determine the qualification for entry and seeding for the BWFsanctioned tournaments. The points awarded are based on the final results of each tournament participated the players during the past 52 weeks. The BWF World Junior Ranking is for players under 19 years old. These ranking systems encourage players to play more tournaments and remain active all the time. They are reasonable in the following two aspects. First, they ensure a prosperous badminton field as well as the entertainment for the audience. It seems true that people without passion are by human nature lazy. They would do nothing or go along the least resistive path, unless there are some irresistible incentives or unbearable pressure. With the current ranking systems, if a player stops playing tournaments for a few months, his/her rank will likely go down, no matter how well the player played in the past. Second, this ranking system promotes the growth of young players, especially when they are competing with more senior players. Otherwise, if the rank is based on all the accumulated points of the players, young players will have to play and wait for a much longer time to be ranked among the top. A detailed description of the rules related to the badminton world ranking system is available in Appendix B. It is seen that the points from tournaments at different levels differ greatly and that the points awarded to different players (e.g., the winner, runner up, 3/4, 5/8, etc.) differ greatly as well. This point

22 CHAPTER 1. SOME BASICS OF BADMINTON Table 1.1: Four levels of the BWF badminton tournaments (updated on April 20, 2016). Level 1 BWF World Events Level 2 BWF World Superseries Level 3 Grand Prix Level 4 BWF Events BWF World Championships Thomas Cup (World s Men s Team Championships) Uber Cup (World s Women s Team Championships) Sudirman Cup (World Mixed Team Championships) (There is no prize money for BWF Major Events) Superseries Finals [Minimum prize pool $500,000 (USD)] Superseries Premier [Minimum prize pool $550,000 (USD)] Superseries [Minimum prize pool $300,000 (USD)] Grand Prix Gold [Minimum prize pool $120,000 (USD)] Grand Prix [Minimum prize pool $55,000 (USD)] International Challenge [Minimum prize pool $17,500 (USD)] International Series [Minimum prize pool $6,000 (USD)] Future Series [Prize pool up to $6,000 (USD)] Figure 1.6: Logos of (a) the Badminton at the Summer Olympics [10], (b) the 2015 BWF World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia (it changes every year) [22], (c) the 2016 BWF Thomas and Uber Cups in Kunshan, China (it changes every two years) [23], (d) the BWF Sudirman Cup [15], (e) the BWF World Superseries [16], and (f) the BWF World Superseries Premier [16].

1.6. WORLD RANKING SYSTEM 23 system results in a many-level pyramid or hierarchy of the badminton players those best players play top-level tournaments, earn the most points, and remain top in the ranking list, while other players play appropriate tournaments and earn the corresponding points based on their levels of skills. This situation is similar to that in academia, where the best researchers publish in top journals and have large impacts, while the other researchers publish in the numerous other journals and make minor or incremental (but important) contributions.

24 CHAPTER 1. SOME BASICS OF BADMINTON