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Monday, 10 June, 2002, 14:40 GMT 15:40 UK
Poppycock and shuttlecocks
The Duke of Beaufort's vast country estate in Gloucestershire should be better known for horse trials and hunting rather than an indoor racquet sport.
But it was at Badminton House in 1873 that the popular sport got its name after guests at a lawn party held by the Duke introduced it to their friends as "the Badminton game".
Of course, the sport's roots are much older, having originated from a children's game known in England as "battledore and shuttlecock".
Using paddle known as a battledore, players worked together to keep a small feathered cork called a shuttlecock in the air as long as possible.
They added a net and the game became a competitive sport called "poona".
Over 10 years later, the sport made its way back to England and gained its current title of "badminton".
It was credit to its popularity that in 1877 the first set of written rules were laid out by the Bath Badminton Club.
A national organising body followed 16 years later with the setting up of the Badminton Association of England, which in 1899 held the first All England Championships.
Badminton's popularity grew dramatically in the 20th century and it soon became a major racket sport worldwide.
One of the most attractive points of badminton, an Olympic sport since 1992, was that men and women could compete on more or less equal terms in the mixed doubles.
In 1966, its introduction into the Commonwealth Games at Kingston, Jamaica allowed Malaysia to shoot up the medal table.
The Malaysians have dominated the men's competitions since then, winning five of the nine singles titles and six doubles titles.
Four years ago, the Asian country grabbed a clean sweep of singles, doubles and team titles on home soil in Kuala Lumpur.
But England has held on to some pride in the sport it helped develop by remaining top of the women's medal table with triumphs in six out of nine singles competitions and eight victories in the doubles, as well as eight mixed doubles wins.
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