The first report of the Shuttlecock is from the 5th century BC. The Chinese played Ti Jian Zi or shuttlecock, which had developed from Tsu Chu, a game similar to football

 

A lot of famous generals in the Chinese history used this game in order to relax and exercise their troops and the game evolved as a result of this. Shuttlecock matches were popular through the centuries, right up to the modern day. During the Song Dynasty (960-1279) the game was renamed to Chien Tsu, taken from the Chinese word for ‘arrow’

 

Although there may be slight variations in the way the game has evolved and is played, Shuttlecock has a long history in most countries in the Far East, particularly Vietnam, where it is the national sport, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Indonesia, The Philippines and Singapore.

 

Similar games were played in many other parts of the World including North America, Brazil, and, particularly, India, from where the British took the game and started the sport of Badminton.

 

More recently, the first national Shuttlecock competition took place in China in 1933 and it became an Official National Sport in 1984. Also in this year, the Amateur Union of Shuttlecock was founded in Hong Kong. It was changed in 1994 to the Hong Kong Association of Shuttlecock (HKSA). Since 2003, it has been included as a sport in the South Eastern Asiatic Games.

 

Shuttlecock, came to Europe before the 2nd world war, when a Chinese athlete performed a demonstration in the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936. Germany and other countries were so impressed, that they began to learn and play the sport.

 

The International Shuttlecock Federation (ISF) was founded in 1999 and, since then, The World Shuttlecock Championships have been held annually. The current members of the ISF are China, Taipei, Finland, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Laos, Vietnam, Greece, France, Romania, Serbia & Montenegro, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Korea, Slovakia, Macao, India Pakistan and Somalia.

 

On August 11th 2003 delegates from Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Serbia & Montenegro founded the Shuttlecock Federation of Europe (SFE), in Ujszasz (Hungary).

 

China and Vietnam are considered to be the leading teams and Hungary and Germany are the best in Europe.

For further information, please visit the following sites:

http://www.shuttlecock-europe.org/

http://www.shuttlecock-world.org/

 

Much of the above information has been taken from these sites, particularly from an article based on research made by Mr Jordan S. Stavridis.