When someone mentions badminton, people think of barbecues, family gatherings and cheap plastic rackets in the backyard. As they try to hit the plastic birdie over a sad, sagging net, their two hands strangle the racket. The ambitious teenager in the family takes a wild baseball swing. He or she misses royally, and the birdie falls onto the grass. This is how America sees it, but that is not how the rest of the world sees it. This tragic concept starts in middle and high school. One classmate of mine thinks it “isn’t a real sport.” This statement cannot be further from the truth and needs to be changed. The badminton community should target marketing and media toward unexposed younger audiences to eliminate the perception of badminton being nothing more than a “backyard sport.”
Badminton’s skewed reputation translates to less publicity and less revenue relative to other sports. During the Olympics, networks give badminton less airtime than golf and rowing despite greater numbers of people playing globally. Worse, American players generally do not do well internationally. In 2018, we didn’t qualify for the BWF Thomas & Uber Cup while relatively unknown countries such as Mauritius and Algeria did. Compounding the situation, prize money offered to professionals in the U.S. is significantly lower than prize money in other sports. The winner of the men’s singles, Lin Chun-Yi, won $11,250 in prize money while Rafa Nadal took home $3,850,000 after winning the 2019 US Open. If you played men’s singles and finished in the first qualifying round of the tennis US Open, you would have received $11,000. Tragic.
The sport deserves money. However, Americans just don’t understand just how intense the sport really is. The shuttlecock can hit a max velocity of 306 mph, making it the fastest sport in the world. Although badminton players play for half the time of a typical tennis match, they run twice the distance and hit the birdie double the number a tennis ball is hit. A player’s average heart rate during a game can reach “over 90% of the player’s maximal heart rate,” according to a study conducted by Michael Phomsoupha and Guillaume Laffye. Because of the skill, finesse and prowess needed, badminton is the second most played sport internationally behind soccer and is the national sport of many countries in Asia such as Indonesia and China.
In the US, network television runs highlight reels of football, baseball and even track and field. On the other hand, badminton receives no airtime; this is why the misconceptions are so widespread. With growing immigrant populations from Asia, networks should recognize the commercial opportunity of airing badminton matches. More airtime would translate into other demographic groups getting hooked onto the sport. The sport itself bears a lot of the blame. Companies only advertise towards a niche group of avid players. Instead, advertisers should sell the beauty of the sport to a younger, wider audience who have not been exposed. Proliferation among a younger audience can lead to a generational shift. The US is already experiencing such a change for soccer.
Things are starting to change. Clubs have sprung up around the Bay Area, and people have started discovering the sport. However, the progress is slow, and the badminton community’s social circle remains small. Badminton companies, clubs and coaches need to combat stagnation by reaching for a younger, more passionate cohort of players. They would give America the chance to leave a mark in the world of badminton. This, in turn, would give badminton the ability to grow in the biggest market in the world. No more backyards and barbecues. Let’s get those medals!