Like many popular modern sports, Badminton evolved from older games.

Badminton's origins can be traced back at least 2,500 years to China in the 5th Century BC. The ancient Chinese played a game called Ti Jian Zi, which had a shuttlecock, but no racket. The game involved people kicking the shuttlecock around with their feet!

By the 1600s it had evolved into a popular children's past time called Battledore and Shuttlecock, and was played widely throughout China, India, Japan and Greece. Feet had been replaced by the battledore as the way to move a shuttlecock around. But the game was still a game in its purest form, being non-competitive, with all players working together to keep the shuttlecock in the air as long as possible.

By the 1860s, the sport had evolved in India into a competitive past-time, with a net separating the players. Called Poona, this forerunner to Badminton was widely played by British Army Officers stationed in India. Some of the officers bought equipment back home to England, and by the early 1870s, a version of Poona had found a new home.

In 1873, the Duke of Beaufort held a lawn party at Badminton, his country estate. Guests of the Duke introduced their friends to "the Badminton game", as it became known. The Bath Badminton Club began in 1877 and developed the first written rules, which have essentially remained the same to this day.

In 1893, the Badminton Association of England was founded and in 1899 the first All-England championship held. Badminton spread out across the world with clubs opening in Europe, United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

In 1934, the International Badminton Federation was founded with nine member countries - Canada, Denmark, England, France, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales.

The first world championship tournament was planned in 1939, but was cancelled because of World War II, and was delayed until 1949. Badminton was first seen at the Olympics in 1972 as a demonstration sport, and then an exhibition sport at the 1988 Olympics. In 1992, it was added to the Olympic program with singles and doubles competition for men and women, with mixed doubles added in 1996.