MAIN Sports 2012 Summer Olympics Badminton

Forms of badminton have been played in China, India and Greece since ancient times.

The modern version was brought back to England and popularized by the Duke of Beaufort. whose residence in Gloucestershire -- Badminton House -- lent its name to the sport

It was only in 1992 when the Barcelona Olympics became the first to officially recognize badminton as an Olympic sport, and it was not until the Atlanta games in 1996 that the mixed doubles event was added to the Olympic badminton program.

Among the uninitiated, badminton's image often evokes a leisurely game of lawn tennis.

That is — until they experience the sport at modern Olympic-level play!

Drives, smashes and slices are only a few of the action-packed words to describe official badminton terminology, which is now familiar to some 200 million fans (and counting) worldwide.

Just up ahead, learn more about or watch a super high-speed match, and you'll see why badminton has become such a popular Olympic sport...

More about Olympic badminton around the Web:

Badminton | Olympic Sport | London 2012 - Brief overview of the sports history together with rules of competition, the official schedule, related news and blog posts.

NBC Olympics - Badminton - The full U.S. tv schedule, feature stories, photos & video, the latest updates and fan forum postings.

BBC Olympics - Badminton - Interviews, photo gallery, video and audio clips plus the latest updates from the London games.

Badminton Planet - Lots of facts on historical and modern badminton. The articles, photos and news are excellent and the hints for improving your game are a good resource. Silly excuses and ecards add a bit of fun to the site.

Badminton Association of England (BAofE) - Along with news and sports coverage this organization brings badminton into schools in the UK. The section for juniors is a good place to start exploring the game at the junior level. The badminton museum they host sounds interesting, but there are no pictures of it...

Badminton NZ - Badminton is a popular sport in New Zealand and this site is a serious entry in online coverage. The news and results section are well maintained, links are provided and the coaching section is very helpful. Check the photo gallery for some good action shots...