Badminton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the sport. For other uses, see Badminton (disambiguation).

Badminton

Two Chinese teams compete in the Mixed Doubles Final of the 2012 Olympics
Highestgoverning body	Badminton World Federation
First played	19th century
Characteristics
Contact	None
Team members	Singles or doubles
Type	Racquet sport
Equipment	Shuttlecock, racquet
Presence
Olympic	1992 – present

Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players per side). Badminton is often played as a casual outdoor activity in a yard or on a beach; formal games are played on a rectangular indoor court. Points are scored by striking the shuttlecock with the racquet and landing it within the opposing side's half of the court.

Each side may only strike the shuttlecock once before it passes over the net. Play ends once the shuttlecock has struck the floor or if a fault has been called by the umpire, service judge, or (in their absence) the opposing side.^[1]

The shuttlecock is a feathered or (in informal matches) plastic projectile which flies differently from the balls used in many other sports. In particular, the feathers create much higher drag, causing the shuttlecock to decelerate more rapidly. Shuttlecocks also have a high top speed compared to the balls in other racquet sports.

The game developed in British India from the earlier game of battledore and shuttlecock. European play came to be dominated byDenmark but the game has become very popular in Asia, with recent competition dominated by China. Since 1992, badminton has been a Summer Olympic sport with five events: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles. At high levels of play, the sport demands excellent fitness: players require aerobic stamina, agility, strength, speed, and precision. It is also a technical sport, requiring good motor coordination and the development of sophisticated racquet movements.^[2]

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Durian

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Durian (disambiguation).

Durian
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Malvaceae
Subfamily:	Helicteroideae
Tribe:	Durioneae
Genus:	Durio L.
Type species
Durio zibethinus L.
Species
There are currently 30 recognised species (see the List of Durio species)
Native distribution of D. zibethinus[1]     Exotic distribution of D. zibethinus[2]
Synonyms
Lahia Hassk.[3]

The durian (/ˈdjʊriən/)^[4] is the fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus Durio. The name "durian" is derived from the Malay-Indonesian languages word for duri or "spike", a reference to the numerous spike protuberances of the fruit, together with the noun-building suffix -an. There are 30 recognised Durio species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit, and over 300 named varieties in Thailand.^[5] Durio zibethinus is the only species available in the international market: all other species are sold only in their local regions. There are hundreds of durian cultivars; many consumers express preferences for specific cultivars, which fetch higher prices in the market.

Regarded by many people in southeast Asia as the "king of fruits",^[6] the durian is distinctive for its large size, strong odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk. The fruit can grow as large as 30 centimetres (12 in) long and 15 centimetres (6 in) in diameter, and it typically weighs one to three kilograms (2 to 7 lb). Its shape ranges from oblong to round, the colour of its husk green to brown, and its flesh pale yellow to red, depending on the species.

Some people regard the durian as having a pleasantly sweet fragrance; others find the aroma overpowering with an unpleasant odour. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as rotten onions, turpentine, and raw sewage. The persistence of its odour, which may linger for several days, has led to the fruit's banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in Southeast Asia.

The durian, native to Southeast Asia, has been known to the Western world for about 600 years. The nineteenth-century British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace described its flesh as "a rich custard highly flavoured with almonds". The flesh can be consumed at various stages of ripeness, and it is used to flavour a wide variety of savoury and sweet edibles in Southeast Asian cuisines. The seeds can also be eaten when cooked.

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