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Badminton is one of the most well known sports in the world. However, it is not well known that at a competitive level, badminton demands many qualities from the players: speed, strength, agility, stamina, skills, accuracy, smartness, mental power and team work.
Badminton is considered as the fastest racquet sport in the world. The badminton shuttlecock leaving the racquet has been clocked at a speed in excess of 180 mph. To strike the shuttlecock at that speed requires enormous skill and power (power = strength * speed), gathering the strength of many muscles in the human body to choreograph a thundering smash. At the other end, returning the smash requires quick response and agility. A slight misjudgment will result in losing the point.
A badminton game can last up to 2 hours where most of the time the players are sprinting from corner to corner in the court while hitting the shuttle with amazing speed and accuracy. Such is the result of many years of rigorous and torturous training.
Great skills and physical fitness alone is not enough to win a badminton game, a successful player must play smart. Using quick thinking to adapt his/her play to the opponents tactics and weaknesses. Using varying speed and position and deceptive plays to earn an edge over the opponent. In the court, the players are left to their own, help is not available from anyone. The player must maintain high concentration and will power, the game hasn't ended if the scoreboard doesn't say 15.
While single games demand great stamina from the player, double games demand team work and cooperation between the two players. In a double game, in addition to thundering attacks and swift defense, one often see quick drives attempting to penetrate and dissolve the coordinating opponents. Any miscommunication between the players may result in gap in the defense.
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