Para-badminton is a variant ofbadminton for athletes with a range of physical disabilities.Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the main governing body for para-badminton starting from June 2011. The sport was governed by Para Badminton World Federation (PBWF) until a unanimous decision to join BWF during a meeting inDortmund in June 2011.[1]In the wheelchair singles and SL3 classes a half court is used for play, with the area in front of the service line, near to the net, out of bounds. A full court is used for the SL4, SU5 and SH6 classes and all doubles matches. The height of the net is the same for all classes.
Players are classified to six[2] different classes determined by BWF:
BWF organizes the bi-annualPara-badminton World Championships and continental championships, originally with the World championships in odd numbered years, and continental championships in even numbered years, before switching in 2022.[3] Para-badminton also features in other multi sports events like theAsian Para Games[4] andASEAN Para Games.
Para-badminton was successfully introduced at the2020 Paralympic Games inTokyo with 14 events, becoming the third racquet sport to be included in the games after wheelchair tennis and table tennis.[5] At the2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, two further events were added to the schedule for a total of 16.
Para badminton has been contested internationally since the 1990s