Ball Badminton

Ball badminton is a racquet game similar to the regular badminton but is played with a ball made from yellow wool. The matches are conducted on a rectangular court of 12x24 dimensions. The court is divided into equal halves by placing a net at the centre. 

The game was originated in India in 1856 by the Tanjore's royal family in Tamil Nadu. Ball badminton is played in outdoors on vast fields. The sport was majorly played in the daytime but with growing popularity; people have started playing it on an artificial court with lighting as an indoor sport. 

Ball Badminton is a team sport which is played between two teams. The players are required to keep passing the woollen ball through the net. Both teams try to smash the ball in a way that the opposite team fails to pass. For every unsuccessful pass or dropping off the playing ball, the opposing team earns a point. 

At the end of the match, the team with the highest points wins. The players can use various techniques such as speed throw, smash, down hit to make sure the opposing player won't be able to return the pass and would drop it.

History of Ball Badminton

The history of ball badminton originated in Tamil Nadu by the ruling king of Tanjore. Since then, the game has been widely played in the southern region of the country. In 1954, the first governing body of the sport was founded as the Ball Badminton Federation of India. In 1956, the sport spread its wing to Andhra Pradesh, where the first national championship for the ball badminton players was organized. Later in 1957 in Chennai, the U-18 junior category for boys was included.  

It was included in the Indian Olympic Association in 1961. Since 1968, the "Star of India" award for the best player is granted in the National Championship. Today, the sport is widely played all around the country, and the national tournaments are held in various places such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Pondicherry and Karnataka.