Para badminton words · Intermediate
The words that make the commentary make sense. They build on the beginner words.
I · Intermediate · 36 words · Step 2 of 2General terms
Badminton World Federation
The international governing body of badminton and para badminton, at the top of a pyramid with one confederation for each continent and one member or para badminton organisation for each country.
Also called: BWF
See also: Para badminton
Para clauses of the Laws
The Laws of Badminton are one document for both able-bodied and para badminton. The clauses printed in italics apply to para badminton only, and cover equipment, the court, service, faults, intervals and suspension of play.
See also: Para badminton
Para badminton general competition regulations
The BWF regulations for para badminton tournaments: entries by sport class, draws, combined events, withdrawals and tournament categories.
Also called: PBGCR
See also: Para badminton, Combined events
BWF World Circuit
The BWF's para badminton tournaments, apart from the World Championships: Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 tournaments. International representation also counts at the Paralympic Games, continental multisport games, the Commonwealth Games and continental championships.
See also: Para badminton
Sport classes
WH1 and WH2
The wheelchair classes. WH2 is for players with an impairment of the lower limbs and little or no involvement of the trunk and arms, and WH1 for those whose impairment also involves the trunk or an upper limb. The minimum impairment criteria for wheelchair badminton are the WH2 requirements, and a non-motorised wheelchair is mandatory.
SL3 and SL4
The standing classes for a lower limb impairment, SL3 being the more impaired. The minimum impairment criteria for standing play with a lower limb impairment are the SL4 requirements. For example, SL4 includes a unilateral amputation of half the foot, and SL3 an above-knee amputation or two below-knee amputations.
SU5
The standing class for an upper limb impairment, of the playing arm or the non-playing arm. SU5 players may use no adaptive equipment, and prosthetic limbs are not allowed.
SH6
The standing class for short stature. A player must be over 13, and under 18 must prove a chromosomal diagnosis and is measured at each competition. Men must have a standing height of at most 145 cm, an arm length of at most 66 cm and the two together at most 200 cm. For women the limits are 137 cm, 63 cm and 190 cm.
Less impaired class
When classes are combined, the class with the higher number in its name is the less impaired class and the one with the lower number the more impaired class.
Adaptive equipment by class
Only certain equipment may be used in each class: a non-motorised wheelchair, which is mandatory, in WH1 and WH2; a prosthesis, orthosis or walking aid in SL3 and SL4; and none in SU5 or SH6. Other equipment may be used only if approved.
See also: WH1 and WH2, SL3 and SL4
Classification terms
Eligible impairments (para badminton)
The physical impairments catered for by the BWF are impaired muscle power, impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency and/or limb length difference, short stature, and coordination impairments (hypertonia, motor ataxia and dyskinesia).
Minimum impairment criteria (para badminton)
For wheelchair badminton the minimum is the requirements for WH2, for standing play with an impairment at the lower limb the requirements for SL4, and for other impairments those set for the respective class.
Sport class assessment (para badminton)
The classification panel decides a player's class through an observation assessment, from the player's ability to carry out badminton-specific movements on court.
Equipment
Wheelchair (para badminton)
The player's body may be fixed to the chair with a strap, the feet must be fixed to the footrest and, when a stroke is played, part of the trunk and the legs must be in contact with the seat. The seat frame may be horizontal or tilted back but not forward, and a rear supporting wheel may extend beyond the main wheels. No electric device may help movement or steering.
Crutch
An upper or lower leg amputee may use a crutch, no longer than the player's natural measurement from the armpit to the ground. A crutch, like a wheelchair, counts as part of the player's person if the shuttle touches it.
Prosthetic limb (para badminton)
An amputee player may use a prosthetic limb in SL3, SL4 and the wheelchair classes but not in SU5, and it must be the same length as the player's existing limb and in proportion with the other limbs. A player may ask the umpire for permission to dry a prosthetic limb during a match, and the umpire decides how many stoppages are acceptable.
Equipment repair
Repairing additional equipment may be treated as a special circumstance in which the referee instructs the umpire to suspend play. The referee supervises the repair, may go with the player if they must leave the court, and decides how long is reasonable.
Court and service
Half-court (para badminton)
Wheelchair classes play on the courts of Diagrams D (singles) and E (doubles), and SL3 singles on the half-court of Diagram F. All other standing classes play on the standard court for singles and doubles. In classes playing half-court the server and receiver use their respective service courts, not the left or right court by score.
Para court set-up
Standing courts are fitted with the extra line for the half-court, and an extra chair is placed on each side of the umpire's chair for SL3 players to use at intervals. On wheelchair courts only the top third of the net is tied to the post, so that players can pass under it to change ends.
Wheelchair service
From the start of the service until it is delivered the wheels of the server and the receiver must be stationary, apart from the natural counter-movement of the server's chair. The whole shuttle must be below the server's armpit when it is hit, with the racket shaft pointing downwards.
Standing service (para badminton)
In the standing classes the alternative service laws apply: the whole shuttle must be below the server's waist when hit, replacing the fixed height of the standard law, and the shaft and head of the racket must point downwards. The waist is an imaginary line round the body level with the lowest part of the server's bottom rib.
Foot-contact exceptions
At service some part of both feet of the server and the receiver must stay in contact with the court in a stationary position. A player can be excused where the Head of Classification has medically justified it, and the referee and technical delegate use the list the Head of Classification provides.
See also: Referee and technical delegate
Rules and faults
Wheelchair faults
In wheelchair badminton it is a fault if no part of the player's trunk is in contact with the seat when the shuttle is hit, if the fixation of a foot to the footrest is lost, or if the player touches the floor with any part of the feet during play. A shuttle caught on the net, or caught in the net after passing over, is a fault, not a let.
Catheter break
A wheelchair player may be allowed one additional interval during a match to leave the court to catheterise, accompanied by a BWF-appointed technical official who sees that it is done as quickly as possible.
Game scoring (para badminton)
A match is the best of three games. Under version 6.0 of the Laws, in force from 4 January 2027, a game is won at 15 points, with a two-point lead needed from 14-all and the 21st point winning at 20-all, ends are changed in the third game at 8 points, and the interval is 60 seconds when the leading score reaches 8. Under version 5.0 the figures are 21, 29-all and 30, 11 and 11.
Events and entry
Para badminton events
Singles are played in each of the six classes, for men and women. Doubles (men's, women's and mixed) are played in the combined wheelchair classes WH1-WH2, in SL3-SU5 and in SH6. From 15 February 2026 the men's doubles SL3-SL4 event became SL3-SU5.
Entry by class
A singles entry must be for a specific class or combined class. WH2 is open to players classified WH1 or WH2, SL4 to SL3 or SL4 players, and SU5 to SL3, SL4 or SU5 players. WH1, SL3 and SH6 are open only to players of that class.
Doubles class limit
A doubles pair may not exceed a maximum class point total: 3 in the wheelchair classes (WH1 with WH1 or WH1 with WH2) and 8 in SL3-SU5 (SL3 with SL3, SL3 with SL4, SL4 with SL4 or SL3 with SU5).
Combined events
A draw is made only for events with four or more entries from at least two countries. Otherwise classes are combined from the events combination chart, and the event is titled with both classes, such as WS WH1 + WH2, or just singles (S) or doubles (D) if men's and women's events are combined. The more impaired class is awarded prizes as if there had been no combination. If there is still no draw the players may play an unofficial event.
Moving down to own class
A player of a more impaired class who has entered a less impaired class, such as WH1 entering WH2, can be moved to their own class event by the referee and technical delegate during draw management, if that event needs more entries to be run as an official event.
See also: Less impaired class, Referee and technical delegate
Draw format (para badminton)
Para badminton competitions are structured as group play followed by a knockout draw. If there are too few entries for that, a single group is played.
See also: Para badminton
Doubles partner wanted
A doubles entry must come from, or be confirmed by, both partners. If not, it is treated as two entries with partner wanted, and those are paired by lot by the referee.
Re-entries
After the final classification results are published, and until a deadline set by the technical delegate, a team official may in writing enter a player in an additional event, separate a pair into partner wanted entries or pair two partner wanted entries.
Officials
Referee and technical delegate
BWF appoints a referee and a technical delegate to every sanctioned para badminton tournament. The referee is in overall charge, and the two are responsible for the draw, the seeding and the schedule.
See also: Para badminton
Service judge (para badminton)
The official who sits on a low chair by the net post opposite the umpire and judges whether the server delivers a correct service, calling fault loudly with the approved hand signal. For half-court matches a position diagram is used.
Umpire's handshake (para badminton)
The umpire steps down from the chair to shake hands with players in the wheelchair classes (WH1, WH2) and in the short stature class (SH6), then makes the closing announcement from the base of the chair.