Badminton
Badminton only became an Olympic sport at the Barcelona Games in 1992, yet its origins date back at least 2,000 years. The game of battledore and shuttlecock, which involved kicking the shuttlecock, was first played in ancient Greece, India and China. It wasn't until the mid-19th century that the game began developing using racquets in India. It was here that the English army developed a liking for the game and eventually brought it back to England, giving it the name 'badminton' from the home of the duke of Beaufort, Badminton House in Gloucestershire.
It may surprise some people to know badminton is the world's fastest racquet sport. World-class players have belted the shuttlecock across the net at speeds of 260km/h. Badminton requires lightning fast reflexes and agility, as well as very high anaerobic power in order to play at international level. This sport is very popular in Asia, with China and Indonesia winning 70 per cent of all the International Badminton Federation (IBF) titles. Hong Kong also has its share of top players with three women and two men ranked in the world top 50, including Chen Wang, ranked third in the women's singles, and Agus Hariyanto (pictured), ranked 17th in the men's.
In Hong Kong there are more than 240 registered badminton coaches with the Hong Kong Badminton Association and it's one of 12 elite sports recognised by the Hong Kong Sports Development Board.
The equipment is simple: non-marking indoor court shoes, a racquet (Prince and Yonex make very good inexpensive ones), a court, net and shuttlecocks which are either plastic or feather. Usually beginners play with plastic shuttlecocks because they tend to last longer. Feather shuttlecocks fly faster and in a similar pattern but don't last as long. It's not uncommon for international players to go through 20 to 30 in one game.
Badminton also takes much less space to play than tennis and, although a requirement at international level, physical fitness isn't a prerequisite to picking up a racquet for the first time.
According to the Hong Kong Badminton Association, technique is more important than physical fitness.