Ball Badminton Federation of India (BBFI)

History Of Ball Badminton In India

Ball badminton is a sport native to India. It is a racquet game, played with a yellow ball made of wool, on a court of fixed dimensions (12 by 24 metres) divided by a net. The game was played as early as 1856 by the royal family in Tanjore, the capital of Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu, India. It enjoys the greatest popularity in India. Ball badminton is a fast-paced game; it demands skill, quick reflexes, good judgment, agility, and the ability to control the ball with one's wrist.

Games are usually played outdoors during the day. As a result weather conditions wield a considerable influence, and ball badminton's rules allow the effects of weather conditions to be distributed more-or-less evenly between both teams. More recently, indoor versions of the game have been played under artificial lighting. All-India tournaments are conducted regularly using floodlights in Tamil Naidu, Pondicherry, Andhra, and Karnataka

The ball is yellow wool, from 22 to 23 grams in weight and from 5 to 5.5 cm in diameter. A standard ball-badminton racket usually weighs from 200 to 250 grams and is 63 to 70 cm in length. The strung oval area of the racket should be 20 to 22 cm across and 24 to 27 cm in length. The net is made of fine cord to make a 2 cm square mesh along its length and is edged with red tape at the top. The entire net is red, white and blue, 100 cm wide and 13.5 meters in length. It is tied to a center pole of 183 cm and two poles of 185 cm at the sides of the court to maintain the 183 cm height of the net at the center. Two posts, each 2 meters high, are fixed one meter or less outside the court on either side at the end of the line to which the net is tied, strong enough to keep the net well stretched. A hook is fixed at 1.5 meters height to each pole to easily tighten the net whenever necessary. The size of the court for "fives" teams is 12 meters wide and 24 meters long. It is divided across the middle by a net line over which the net is hung, the ends of which are attached to the tops of the two posts. The serving crease lines are drawn one meter away from each side of the net line and parallel to it. The center line is drawn halfway between the serving crease lines and parallel to the sidelines; this divides the space on each side of the crease line into two halves, known as the right and left courts. The boundary lines are marked with white ropes, 5 mm thick. The center and crease lines are to be marked so as to be visible, about 10 mm wide.

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