Can you tell me some fun facts about badminton?
Did you know that badminton was invented in India?
British officers in Pune noticed people playing a fun-looking game. They learnt the game from them and added a couple of their own twists to it. They named the game Poonah, after the city they learned it in.
The Duke of Beaufort became a fan of the game and renamed it Badminton, after his mansion Badminton House.
What is the Thomas Cup?
The Thomas Cup is a huge men’s badminton tournament that’s informally referred to as the World Cup of Badminton. The women’s version of the game is called the Uber Cup.
The tournament was named after Sir George Thomas, the founder of the Badminton World Federation (BFW).
Indonesia has won the Thomas Cup fifteen times, more than any other country in the world. India has never won it. That is until now when we won the Cup on 15th May 2022 (yay us!).
How come we won the Cup now when we had not for so many years?
There were two reasons that helped the Indian men’s badminton team win the Cup:
1. The team members had lost many matches at the Olympics and other games over the years. They wanted to show the world that they are good athletes.
2. The team members were really good friends with each other. They helped each other to improve.
Who all were the players that brought the prize home?
The players in the Singles matches were Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, and Priyanshu Rajawat. The players in the Doubles matches were Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, M.R Arjun, Dhruv Kapila, Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala.
Do you know the best part? India defeated the leading world champion Indonesia to win the Cup.
Next time you want to do something that seems very difficult, remember that a good friend and hard work are all that you need.
