Badminton and the game of 'Poona'
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Badminton takes its name from an English country house, but the game itself was developed by British officers in India, where it was called 'Poona'.
Indian contribution, later developed elsewhereCulture, games, language & ideas
Indian claim
Badminton was born in India, in Pune (Poona), where its first rules were made.
Evidence for the Indian claim
- Britannica: a form of the game was played by British army officers stationed in India, where it was known as 'poona', before it was taken to England.
- Officers on leave took the game to England, where it was played at the Duke of Beaufort's estate, Badminton House.
Commonly credited to
Badminton is an English game, named after Badminton House in Gloucestershire, where it was played in about 1873.
Evidence for the other claim
- The ancestor, battledore and shuttlecock, was played for centuries in ancient Greece, China and India.
- The game was named, standardised and organised in England: the Bath Badminton Club (1877) and the Badminton Association of England (1893) wrote the rules used today.
What historians and scientists say
Modern badminton took shape among British officers in India in the 1860s and was then named and codified in England. India's role in its birth is well recorded.
Sources