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WorldNet Service Installation Disk - Cybercathlon Games and Interactive Tour of Olympic Museum (1996).ISO
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00819_Field_st22.txt.txt
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1996-06-03
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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.