Badminton
Badminton is a racket game played over a net with a shuttlecock, as singles or doubles. Whoever wins a rally scores a point, a game goes to 21 points (with a two-point lead needed at 20-all) and a match is the best of three games. Under the BWF Laws, games change to 15 points from 4 January 2027.
New to badminton? Start here
Which to watch first, and how long
Start with Singles. One player a side and no doubles serving order to follow, so every rally is easy to read.
- Singles
- Best of three games to 21 points; games go to 15 points from 4 January 2027
- Doubles
- The same scoring, two a side: men's, women's and mixed doubles
Lengths are from the rule book.
The big events, and why they matter
- 1Olympic Games (badminton)The title badminton is measured by.Every 4 years · Holder: Men's singles: Viktor Axelsen
- 2BWF World ChampionshipsThe sport's own world title.Yearly, except Olympic years · Holder: Men's singles: Alex Lanier
- 3All England OpenThe oldest and most prestigious tour event (a Super 1000).Yearly · Holder: Men's singles: Lin Chun-yi
- 4Asian Games (badminton)Asia's multi-sport title; for India often the most reachable major medal.Every 4 years · Holder: Men's singles: Kunlavut Vitidsarn
How the tournaments are graded
Between the big championships, the BWF World Tour runs through the year, its tournaments graded by level. The higher the level, the more ranking points and prize money, so the best players go where the level is highest.
| Level | In 2026 |
|---|---|
| World Tour Finals | The season's last event, for the top eight in each event |
| Super 1000 | 4: the Malaysia Open, All England Open, Indonesia Open and China Open |
| Super 750 | 6, among them the India Open in New Delhi |
| Super 500 | 9 |
| Super 300 | 10, among them the Syed Modi International |
| Super 100 | 10 |
The World Championships and the Olympic Games sit above the whole tour.
India
- Badminton at the Olympic Games: 3 medals, all in women's singles: Saina Nehwal, bronze 2012; P. V. Sindhu, silver 2016 and bronze 2020
- BWF World Championships: 16 medals: 1 gold (P. V. Sindhu, women's singles, 2019), 4 silver, 11 bronze
- All England Open: 2 titles: Prakash Padukone (men's singles, 1980) and Pullela Gopichand (men's singles, 2001)
Countries to know
India and the nations that have done best, biggest titles first.
- IndiaBWF World Championships: 1 gold, 4 silvers, 11 bronzes (latest 2026); Badminton at the Commonwealth Games: 10 golds, 8 silvers, 13 bronzes (latest 2022)
- ChinaBWF World Championships: 73 golds, 54 silvers, 87 bronzes (latest 2026); All England Open: 62 titles (latest 2026)
- IndonesiaBWF World Championships: 23 golds, 20 silvers, 39 bronzes (latest 2026); Badminton at the Asian Games: 30 golds, 28 silvers, 47 bronzes (latest 2026)
- South KoreaBadminton at the Olympic Games: 7 golds, 8 silvers, 7 bronzes (latest 2024); BWF World Championships: 16 golds, 15 silvers, 35 bronzes (latest 2026)
- MalaysiaBWF World Championships: 2 golds, 10 silvers, 14 bronzes (latest 2026); Badminton at the Commonwealth Games: 31 golds, 22 silvers, 16 bronzes (latest 2022)
- DenmarkBWF World Championships: 12 golds, 15 silvers, 43 bronzes (latest 2025); All England Open: 12 titles (latest 2022)
Who runs it
| Rules made by | Badminton World Federation (BWF), Statutes Section 4.1, Laws of Badminton, version 5.0, in force from 26 April 2025 |
| International federation | Badminton World Federation (BWF) |
| In India | Badminton Association of India (BAI): recognised, on the MYAS list for 2026 |
Where and when it is played
On an indoor court 13.40 metres long, 6.10 metres wide for doubles and 5.18 for singles, with the net 1.55 metres high at the posts. The big events: the Olympic Games every four years, the BWF World Championships every year except Olympic years and the All England Open every year.