Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" and "doubles". Badminton is often played as a casual outdoor activity in a yard or on a beach; formal games are played on a rectangular indoor court. Points are scored by striking the shuttlecock with the racquet and landing it within the other team's half of the court.
Two Chinese pairs compete in the mixed doubles gold medal match of the 2012 Olympics
An 1854 depiction of battledore and shuttlecock by John Leech.
Charles Gleyre, Odysseus and Nausicaa (with badminton rackets).
Badminton racquets
Racket (sports equipment)
A racket or racquet is a sporting equipment used to strike a ball or shuttlecock back-and-forth in games such as tennis, badminton, squash, racquetball and padel. The typical basic structure of a racket consists of a widened distal end known as the head, an elongated handle known as the grip, and a reinforced connection between the head and handle known as the throat or heart.
Badminton rackets
Real tennis rackets and balls
Table Tennis racket with 3 different sizes of the celluloid ball
A modern tennis racket, with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer frame