Badminton

[zoozoo]

Me and my brother play it all the time everyweek, its a pretty good workout our if its 1v1

[myelo]

Just a quick question.  Why are badminton and tabble tennis even Olympic sports?  I can understand swimming, track and field and even gymnastics.  The original Oympics were sports based upon warfare and who was the best. 

I think we sorta got past the warfare concept when synchronized swimming was put in.

[Cthulhu]

I think we sorta got past the warfare concept when synchronized swimming was put in.

Or synchronized diving. At least synchronized swimming is (I think) women only. I'm no bigoted redneck, but men's synchronized diving is just a little bit creepy.

As far as badminton being a backyard recreational sport, so is volleyball, and volleyball is brutal when played at the Olympic level. Remember the first time you saw table tennis played at the extreme level? Like most people, I'd played ping pong, but the first time I saw the Chinese play table tennis, I was like "Holy Crap!". Olympic level badminton is the same way.

Here's a video from the 2004 Olympics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jCFjb82Dt0&feature=related

[gwano]

Just a quick question.  Why are badminton and tabble tennis even Olympic sports?  I can understand swimming, track and field and even gymnastics.  The original Oympics were sports based upon warfare and who was the best.  Guess I am just someone that prefers things as they were designed.

maybe badminton and table tennis were played by the greeks to simulate batting away incoming projectiles?
just a possibility

[Cthulhu]

maybe badminton and table tennis were played by the greeks to simulate batting away incoming projectiles?
just a possibility

I understand the Greeks also invented Leap-Frog. What was that simulating?

[gwano]

I understand the Greeks also invented Leap-Frog. What was that simulating?

ancient greek armies consisted of lots of lonely men.

[Cthulhu]

ancient greek armies consisted of lots of lonely men.

Not to mention doubling the employment opportunities for "Camp Followers".

[Denholm]

Man, Olympic Table tennis is wicked!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GB4D-5nUTw

[Ripsnort]

Why is every great ping pong player named "Wang"?

Incidently, I love ping pong. I used to play it during lunch for 12 years when I work night shift.

[Denholm]

Just as Arabs are renamed when they adopt Islam, Chinese are renamed when they adopt ping-pong.

[Ripsnort]

Just as Arabs are renamed when they adopt Islam, Chinese are renamed when they adopt ping-pong.

Thanks for that explanation "Tex".

[Gh0stFT]

Me and my brother play it all the time everyweek, its a pretty good workout our if its 1v1

same here, its a damn good workout if you play it 1v1 and the others is not a rookie.
1 hour and your done hehe. Sometimes i still feel the game 2 days later in the muscles & bones
On the other hand i never watched badminton on TV.

[Kaw1000]

Ping pong is tooo much fun when you play a person with equal talent!!
we used to dive, hit the walls.I took out a door, down my basement one night diving for one. 

[Angus]

Badminton is one heck of a sport, and with equal opponents of some skill it's one of the hardest.
Lot's of skill and legwork. Know it, I trained and did some tournaments.
And fun, oh yesss!