Badminton is a racket sport played by either two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs (doubles), who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their rackets so that it passes over the net and lands in their opponents' half of the court. A rally ends once the shuttlecock has struck the ground, and the shuttlecock may only be struck once by each side before it passes over the net.

Badminton is an Olympic sport with five competitive disciplines: men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles, in which each pair is a man and a woman.

A rally is lost if the shuttle is hit into the net, or over the net but outside of the opponent's court. A rally is also lost if the shuttle touches the player's clothing or body, or if it is hit before it crosses over the net.

In men's singles and doubles events, 15 points wins a game. However, if the score reaches 14-14, the side which first reached 14 can choose either to play to 15, or to set the game to 17 points. The final score will reflect the sum of the points won before setting plus the points gained in setting.

Scoring in women's singles is slightly different. 11 points wins a game and there is the option to set to 13 points at 10-10.

And Finally...
Players change ends at the end of a game and when the leading score reaches 8 in a game of 15 points (or 6 in a game of 11 points) in the third game. A five minute interval is allowed prior to any third game.