Badminton is one of the country’s most popular sports to play, with clubs and leisure centres all over the UK welcoming around one million of us at least once a month. But when it comes to gameplay, accessibility, and culture, there is much still misunderstood about a sport that began life in India in the 19th century. And so, with the help of some of the sport’s top coaches, it’s time to bust some common badminton urban myths.
It’s not a physically-demanding sport
Badminton England coach and tutor Steve Bish laughs at some of the sneering comments he’s used to hearing about badminton. Those most guilty of underestimating the sport, he says, are those who play notoriously physical sports like rugby.
“You get your traditional view from your big, strong rugby player types. They think that it’s an easy sport, just patting it backwards and forwards. But they’ve probably never seen badminton at a world-class level.
Then you get a little nine-year-old to play against them, and they wipe the floor with them! Only then do they start to realise that it involves quite a lot of technique and skill, with different ways of power being involved. Elite badminton players are right up there among the greatest athletes in the world, across any sport. I’m not sure the general public in this country really understand that.”
It’s only for girls
Abu Siddique, head coach at South Shields’ Ocean Badminton Academy, has lost count of the amount of times he’s been mocked for playing a “girl’s sport”. Aside from the passive misogyny that suggests that this would somehow make the sport inferior, the 2025 grassroots coach of the year is ready to correct anyone with such views.
“I get teased quite a lot by my friends, family, and people that know me who say, ‘Oh, you play a girl sport.’ What they don’t realise is badminton is the fastest racquet sport in the world. Once they come in and they start playing, they realise how effective it is. How you have to be flexible, you have to have stamina, you have to have strength and agility.
“Before they leave, they always admit that they were wrong. It is a sport that everybody can enjoy. It’s fun. You can either play it socially, or you can play at club level or league level. Badminton is for everyone. It doesn’t matter what level you’re at, everybody with different abilities can take part.”
Olympic coverage leads to a surge in take-up
Badminton has been a staple sport at the Olympics since its debut in Barcelona in 1992. The Chinese, with 52 medals in total, have been the most dominant nation, while Great Britain are ninth in the overall table with one silver and two bronze medals. But while there are many sports that would love the profile that comes with being on the Olympic roster, Badminton England’s coach education manager Lee Bent admits that it hasn’t always resulted in long-term uptake.
“What we tend to see is a short spike in interest immediately after major games or tournaments, but that interest usually tapers off. It doesn’t necessarily translate into increased long-term participation. That pattern seems consistent across most sports. While we, as an organisation, prepare for the post-event interest, it often drops off and returns to normal levels without resulting in sustained growth.”
Most Brits could qualify for the badminton Olympic team
According to a now infamous YouGov survey polled immediately following the culmination of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, 27% of Brits said they could qualify for a sport at the 2028 Olympics if they had four years to train for it. Of the sports that most people thought they could represent their country in at Los Angeles in 2028, badminton came third with 10% of the vote.
It’s not a stat that surprises Lee, given some of the interesting messages he receives at the end of every Olympic cycle. “Every Olympics, without fail, we get at least four emails after the Games from people saying, ‘I’d like to represent GB in badminton at the next Games, what do I need to do?’ And it’s coming from people who may have never played seriously.
“They don’t realise that we’ve got players like Sean Vendy and Ben Lane – our top pair at the moment – who started playing when they were six or seven years old. It just shows how long and dedicated the journey really is.”
It’s inaccessible
But while it’s long odds that you might be good enough to make the Olympic team, it’s not true that badminton is only a sport for the young, athletic, or able-bodied. There are a wide range of sessions and programmes all over the UK that are designed for people of all ages and abilities.
“One of the benefits of our sport is that anyone can pick up a racquet and play,” says Lee. “We’re very focused on making badminton accessible, and when we work with partners they often choose badminton because of its inclusive nature. You can adapt the game by changing the equipment and the approach. We work with organisations around SEN (special educational needs), we support those with complex disabilities, where the adaptations we make can sometimes transform the game into something completely different.
“Our big push now is around inclusive coaching, about being adaptable. Our focus is around integration, which includes neurodiversity, for anyone who may have ADHD, autism, or anxiety. And there’s people playing right into their 70s and 80s because of the nature of the sport. It’s so varied that it does lend itself for inclusion very well.”
Steve agrees that players are enjoying the sport into their later years, “From a competitive point of view, the masters and seniors part of our sport – so the over 40s, 50s and 60s – has been thriving in the last few years. That’s an area that’s really grown. People are playing the sport for longer, and also playing the sport competitively for longer, too.”
