The modern game of badminton is possibly a descendant of a popular
children's game called Battledores and Shuttlecocks played in medieval
England. British Army officers posted in Pune, India, gave badminton its
present form in the 19th century when they added a net and played it
competitively. As the city of Pune was formerly known as Poona, the game
was also known as Poona at that time.
Some of the officers went home and introduced the new sport in Britain
during the early 1870s. The game owes its name to the Duke of Beaufort's
country place, Badminton, where the game was played at a lawn party
hosted by the Duke.
In the 1920s, badminton acquired an organized structure in India and all
India tournaments began to be hosted in the thirties.
