Kuala Lumpur: One of the biggest problems with playing badminton outdoors is the wind condition. The shuttlecock is usually a light object, therefore, playing outside with any wind will become extremely annoying. For feather shuttlecocks, if you are playing on a rainy day, the feathers will capture the rain and will add more weight to the shuttlecock.
Well, problems above could soon be a thing of the past as Badminton World Federation (BWF) has officially introduced the outdoor badminton initiative that titled “AirBadminton”. AirBadminton was created so that people of all ages from around the world are able to play badminton in parks, playgrounds, streets, and also beaches.
BWF President Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen officiated the AirBadminton launch in partnership with the Chinese Badminton Association (CBA) and the Guangzhou Sports Bureau (GSB) on Monday, said that AirBadminton could open up a completely new opportunity that would attract many more players from around the world.
“This is a momentous occasion for badminton. Strategically, AirBadminton will allow us to fulfil our overall objective of putting a badminton racket in the hands of as many people as possible,” said the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games men’s singles gold medalist.
“Given that most people’s first experience with badminton comes in an outdoor environment, we are now making it easier for everyone to access the sport through a new outdoor game and new shuttlecock, the AirShuttle.”
“In the future, we see AirBadminton as an exciting, new, energetic version of the sport. Overall, the aim is to inspire more people to play more badminton in more places.”
On average, a healthy person burns around 300–450 calories in an hour playing badminton due to the running, lunging, diving and hitting elements of the sport. Thus, it’s great news that BWF is able to promote the sport to wider audience through AirBadminton.
(videos: BWF)
