You might be thinking badminton is a contact sport if you have never seen or played badminton before. I, myself have been playing badminton for years now and I have the answer for you.
Badminton is actually not a contact sport. There is no need for contact at all even if you are playing doubles. The only way you have contact is if you crash into your partner when playing doubles, which rarely happens.
Many people, like myself, do not like contact sports for many reasons. One of the biggest reasons is because the chances of injury are much higher. To understand why badminton is not a contact sport, you first need to know how badminton is actually played.
How Is Badminton Played?
Badminton is a simple game with complex rules. Played on a rectangular court of 13.4 meters long and 6.1 meters wide. There are 2 game modes you can play badminton as… singles and doubles. For singles, the court you get to play in is slightly smaller. Losing almost 1 meter in width compared to doubles where you get to play a full court of 6.1 meters wide.
Even playing doubles, badminton is nowhere near being a contact sport. 2 people on one side will be challenging the 2 players on the other side. There is no reason for you to touch your partner or vise versa. All you need to do as a team is to return the shot back to the opponent and win the point.
Sometimes when playing doubles, there might be racket contact when you and your partner are both going for the same shot. And in some rare cases, you might get a doubles partner that is extremely aggressive, he or she might want to hit all the shots. As a result, they might crash into you if you fail to avoid him or her. Those are the only 2 scenarios where playing badminton could have contact with others.
If you want to know more about the rules of badminton and how it is played, check out this article.
What Are The Chances of Injury?
It is true that noncontact sports usually have a lower chance of injury since no one will be disrupting your play. Sports such as soccer or rugby will have a much higher chance of injury since there is a lot of hard contacts. There is no such contact in badminton but you can still get injured, just not as easily.
Whether you have a high or low chance of injury will be dependent on a few factors. These factors include things such as wearing the proper shoes, your fitness level, and how hard you push yourself.
Wearing The Proper Shoes
Wearing a proper pair of badminton shoes is very important if you want to significantly lower your chances of injury. The main reason beginners get injured is that they do not have the proper shoes. You can easily twist or sprain your ankle if you are not wearing shoes made for badminton. Not to mention, if your shoes have bad airflow, it can get you blisters on your feet as well.
The reason proper badminton shoes will lower the chances of injuries if because of the features built into those shoes. They usually give you a lower center of gravity, good grip, flexible, lightweight, and amazing airflow. But the 2 main reasons why badminton shoes will reduce your chances of injuries are because of the lower center of gravity, good grip, and amazing airflow.
Lower Center of Gravity & Grip
Compared to other shoes like those you used for running, badminton shoes have soles that are much lower. When your center of gravity is lower, will get a better balance. Hence, preventing you from falling over easily. This, combined with the grip provided by your badminton shoes, the chances of spraining your ankle is dramatically lowered.
Air Flow
Having good airflow in a pair of badminton shoes is extremely important. Your feet can get sweaty really fast and without good airflow, all the sweat will be stuck inside. When there is moisture with friction, blisters can form.
When your shoes have good air flow, your feet will stay dry all the time so, blisters don’t form.
Your Fitness Level & How Hard You Push Yourself.
Even though badminton is not a contact sport, it is an intense game. You can still get injured if you are not fit enough. Contactless sports can still be dangerous because if your fitness level is not up to par and you push yourself too hard, you can get injured. These injuries can happen on your hamstring, wrist, or even calves (cramping). Try not to push yourself too hard especially if you are not too fit.
Conclusion
In conclusion, racket sports, like badminton, are generally noncontact sports. Tennis, ping pong, squash, and racquetball are great examples. The only contact is limited to you and your partners crashing into each other when playing doubles.
Even without contact, you can get serious injuries from badminton if you are not careful. Generally, badminton is pretty safe if you use the right shoes and have proper guidance if you are just starting out.
Posts You Might Like
