Badminton is the fastest racket 
sport in the world, with the 
shuttlecock attaining speeds as 
high as 200 mph.  The sport's 
origins may go back to the 5th 
century B.C., when a sport called 
Ti Jian Zi, shuttlecock kicking, 
was played in China.  The 
modern version of the game can 
be traced to India in the 1800s, 
where it was played by British 
military officers, who then 
introduced the game to England 
upon their return home.  

A demonstration sport at the 
1972 Olympics and an exhibition 
sport in 1988, badminton made its 
debut as an official Olympic  
event at Barcelona in 1992.  
Todays badminton racket, made 
of boron, fiberglass, carbon, 
graphite and ceramic, weighs a 
trim 3 ounces.  The shuttlecock, 
made of cork wrapped in leather 
and goose feathers, weighs in at 
2 ounces.

The best players in the world 
come from Asia, where the sport 
enjoys enormous popularity.  
Olympic  competition  includes  
both mens and womens singles 
and doubles.  The singles 
champions in the 1992 Olympics 
were two young Indonesians, 
Alan Budi Kushuma Wiratama 
and Susi Susanti Haditono, who 
in real life were engaged to be 
married at the time of their Gold 
Medal triumphs.