Badminton has never been a spectator sport and it gets no television coverage in the UK, unless a British pair are doing well. But the Badminton World Federation wants to change all that and raise the profile of the sport.
The leading badminton organisation is aiming to get the game more television coverage, as well as making it more spectator friendly. It is a sport for people of all ages, skill levels and cultural backgrounds, yet it fails to get the high profile that surrounds tennis.
In the UK especially, it is popular as a recreational activity, a way of keeping fit, and improving your social life. Every week keen players turn up in gyms and halls all over the country to play the game for fun. While tennis is taught in schools, not many have badminton on their curriculum.
The Chinese dominate the game and three-time World Champion, Dan Lin, is hoping to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics to defend his title. He won the individual Gold Medal at the 2008 Bejing Olympics, but has lost his form of late and also his World Number 1 ranking to Chong Wei Lee.
The 27 year old from Longyan, Fujian, China is currently ranked Number 3 after dominating the game for over two years. Famous for his jumping smash, he won the World Championships Cup in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The rankings are published every Thursday on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) website.
Current World Rankings Week 44 2010
Men.
- Chong Wei Lee MAS
- Peter Hoeg Gade DEN
- Dan Lin CHN
- Taufik Hudayat INA
- Jin Chen CHN
- Long Chen CHN
- Chun Lai Bao CHN
- Boonsak Ponsana THA
- Tien Mien Nguye VIE
- Jano Jorgense DEN
Women
- Xin Wang CHI
- Yihan Wang CHI
- Saina Nehwal IND
- Shixian Wang CHI
- Tine Baun DEN
- Jiang Yanjiao CHI
- Hongyan Pifra FRA
- Juliane Schenk GER
- Youn Joo Bae KOR
- Leriko Hirose JAP
Unlike tennis, the badminton season runs throughout the year, with the Masters Championships taking place in Copenhagen from 27-29 December 2010.
Tournament Schedule. November and December 2010
November
- 10-13 II Miani Pan Am Championships
- 11-14 Iceland International
- 18-21 Norwegian International Oslo
- 18-21 Yonex Czech Junior International
- 18-21 IV Suriname International
- 23-28 Victor Korea Open Group
- 24-28 Scottish International Championships Glasgow
- 25-28 South African International Challenge Pretoria
- 25-28 II International Challenge Mexico City
- 30- 2 Dec Botswana International
- 30-4 Dec Bahrain International Challenge
- 30-5 December Li Ning China Open Super Series
December
- 1-5 Kaoch Siung International Challenge
- 2-5 Yonex Welsh International Cardiff
- 3-5 Portugese International Junior Championships
- 6-12 Yonex-Surrise Hong Kong Open Super Series
- 9-12 Yonex Irish International Dublin
- 14-17 Yonex Italian Open Rome
- 18-20 USBDF Winter Junior International Los Angeles
- 20-23 Turkey International Istanbul
- 21-26 Tata Ioen India International Challenge Mumbai
- 27-29 COPENHAGEN MASTERS
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