Thinley Namgay  

Three years after the inception of air badminton in the world, Bhutan Badminton Federation (BBF) introduced air badminton yesterday at Bebena in Thimphu coinciding with the first World Badminton Day.

Air badminton was launched by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation on May 13, 2019, in Guangzhou, China.

Traditional badminton and air badminton differ in terms of shuttlecock, design and dimensions of the court, and the number of players. Badminton enthusiasts can now play badminton on any surface such as parks, gardens, streets, playgrounds and beaches.

BBF’s national coach for women, Norbu Dradhul said that the size of the air badminton court is slightly bigger than the indoor court and three or four players can play from each side. 



BBF’s general secretary Kinley said: “The objective of introducing air badminton is to find an effective, economic and sustainable way of encouraging more people to play badminton in more places.”

He said the game could be played with the same rackets and the air shuttle has good flight performance, spin response and durability. “It has a wind resistance of 20km per hour.”

Kinley Tshering said there are more than 300 million active badminton players globally and the introduction of air shuttlecock in the global market in March 2020 had further promoted the game.

Meanwhile, more than 80 students of Dechencholing Higher Secondary School learnt the basics of the game to mark the day.



World Badminton Day brings people and communities together to experience badminton, through a variety of active, engaging, and innovative badminton events.

Bhutan celebrated world badminton day for the first time in the country yesterday.

The day was also a maiden global occasion across the globe after 88 years of its establishment on July 5, 1934. The International Badminton Federation, currently known as the BWF was founded on that day.

Bhutan is one of the nominees among 194 countries for the BWF grant impact award, which was announced at the BWF annual general meeting on May 6, 2022.

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