Rio 2016: Badminton clears Russian players for Olympic Games

[uawchild]

Source: BBC


Russian athletes set off for Rio from Moscow on Wednesday

Badminton is the latest sport to clear Russian competitors to take part in the Olympic Games as the nation's athletes begin to travel to Brazil.

Governing bodies must rule on whether Russian athletes can compete in Rio following the country's doping scandal.

So far 108 of the 387-strong Russian team have been banned from the Games, which get under way on 5 August.
The final line-up will be announced on 30-31 July, according to the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).

"We have had a rigid drug-testing programme, especially leading up to Rio 2016, and all four Russian athletes have been tested in and out of competition and their samples have been analysed outside of Russia," said Badminton World Federation's (BFW) Thomas Lund.

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/36912152

[frazzled]

1. LOL: Badminton!

Maybe they'll take home the gold in badminton. I can't believe anyone will care.

[uawchild]

2. Don't start hating on Badminton, bro.

Badminton, at the Olympic level, is a vicious sport!


So you think you know about badminton?

Most people have seen badminton in one form or another and consequently think they know badminton. However badminton may not be quite what you imagine. Here are a few common questions and answers regarding badminton.

Badminton is that game we all play at family picnics and in the backyard, right?

The backyard/picnic version of badminton is one type of badminton. Badminton as a sport is played indoors with much more high-tech equipment. Modern racquets are complex alloys of carbon graphite, boron, ceramic, aluminium and steel in various proportions. These racquets are very light, less than 3.5 ounces and can be strung very tightly. Also the shuttlecock is made of feathers, not plastic, and weighs between 4.74 and 5.50 grams. Shuttles cost about $20 for a dozen and last about one game, at the most. The net is five feet high, not the height of a volleyball net.

Even so it is still pretty slow, isn't it?

To play competitive badminton you need explosiveness, lightening quick reflexes and rapid hand-eye coordination. Why you ask? Well the shuttlecock has been clocked in excess of 180 mph (NO this is not a misprint). That's faster than the fastest tennis serve, and occurs regularly during rallies at the top level. Add onto this the fact that in doubles games there are often 40 or 50 shots in 20 seconds you can see that the first sentence was no exaggeration.

So what sort of action do you see in badminton?

A badminton match consists of constant highly concentrated action; running, jumping, twisting, stretching, running backwards, throwing and striking. In a typical match the athletes cover every inch of the court and run more than one mile.
http://www.worldbadminton.com/commentary/badfaq1.htm

[frazzled]

5. Sorry, I just think

any sport I can do halfway well isn't really much of a sport. I am pathetic at all sports, but I was always pretty good at badminton. Call me the self-hating athlete.

But in the end, it's silly anyway: the world is full of major issues. Badminton just ain't one of them. And among the Olympic sports, it's probably never going to be prime time. I do respect it more than beach volleyball.

[uawchild]

10. You do know I am just having fun with this?

Of course I realize the public perception of badminton. Lol

But to be honest, Olympic level athletes in any sport are way way beyond any backyard athletes.

Cheers.

[frazzled]

13. Me too: we need a little levity

I can't wait to be distracted by the Olympics. Politics is worse than sports in terms of roiding us all up!

[jberryhill]

12. Watch the risky double-scissors throw in this RPS tourney

[snooper2]

9. who knew badminton could be so hard core

LOL

[uawchild]

15. I know! It's VERY hardcore! Heh, there isn't a racist under current to this... is there?

Heh, people aren't disparaging badminton because Asians excel in the sport, are they?

I sure hope not!

[snooper2]

17. ROFL, you aren't following us here- Nobody cares, it is fucking badminton

besides-

[uawchild]

18. You just realized that? lol

Please. lol

[tonyt53]

3. Every time I hear "badminton", I can't help but to think of the movie "Waterboy" and Steve.

[geek tragedy]

4. it would be pretty sad if badminton players were doping nt

[uawchild]

6. Why disparage a tough sport?

World class badminton is fast and furious.

[jberryhill]

8. Almost as cut-throat as Olympic Croquet

Who can forget the mallet-spiking controversy of 1976?

[geek tragedy]

11. yes, but it's not basketball or hockey or weightlifting nt

[jberryhill]

7. The Russian rock-paper-scissors team was also caught using banned subtances

[uawchild]

14. Nuuuuu! Say it ain't so!

lol

[MynameisBlarney]

16. BADMINTON?!?!

This is an Olympic sport but skateboarding isn't?
WITAF?

[muriel_volestrangler]

20. Badminton has an inherent scoring system; skateboarding is one of those 'judged' sports

which is subjective, based on aesthetics. Badminton probably involves more aerobic exercise too, at the top level. It is far more suitable as an Olympic sport than skateboarding.

[MynameisBlarney]

21. Have you ever ridden a skateboard?

I was a skater for almost 20 years, and I can tell you it is extremely vigorous.
And Snowboarding seemed to fit in well as an olympic sport

[muriel_volestrangler]

23. But the point is that badminton, which you leaped to put down, is vigorous

and a match lasts longer than any skateboarding routine is likely to.

Yes, skateboarding would be like snowboarding - OK if you can make a race out of it, otherwise it's judged.

[uawchild]

24. excellent point

I agree, if you need a judge to decide the winner it's more a performance than a sporting contest.

[MynameisBlarney]

25. ok...

I'm taking that as a no.

And that's fine.

Of any sport I could ever think of that would be an event at the Summer Olympics, badminton is not one of them.
I didn't say it wasn't competitive, or strenuous. It just seems like a game that people played in their backyards until they were big enough to play with the lawn darts.

Skateboarding is more fun to watch, in my opinion.
And more fun to engage in.

[muriel_volestrangler]

26. There you go - you're looking for 'fun'

The Olympics is looking for competition.

Plus they're looking for people who wouldn't put others down as children, of course. After all, running about and racing is something really young children do, isn't it? So maybe you'd like to eliminate all the track races as something the kids do before they mature enough to skateboard?

[MynameisBlarney]

27. Wait...what?

That's a hell of a stretch there, lol.

You have a nice day now, ya hear.



Good day.

[muriel_volestrangler]

28. No, 'fun' was the word you used. Twice.

It's no "stretch" at all. It's your own word. And you did say you looked on badminton as something children play, before they're old enough to play a different game. Again, no "stretch".

[MynameisBlarney]

29. That wasn't the stretchI was talkin' about, lol.

But, ok.

I'm not going to argue anymore.

Have a nice evening.

[muriel_volestrangler]

30. No need to argue, just explain what you think is a stretch. (nt)

[yallerdawg]

19. Remember this at backyard barbecues?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

22. I would call badminton a "serious sport".

It can't be played competitively while simultaneously drinking beer.

Golf, curling, those are sports that seem to demand beer.

[edbermac]

31. My favorite event is Olympic Hide and Go Seek.