In the world of blogging, badminton blogs are few and far between. Many are just review blogs (for rackets mostly) or have been defunct for year. I guess following stereotypes, jocks tend to not be writers? Or maybe there isn’t much chance to make a profit so people don’t try?
Anyway, I’m not sure. I did find two blogs I like a lot and are updated regularly. They are both written by semi-pro players and give a really fascinating look inside the life of a badminton player:
Luke is one of the top badminton players in Canada, and worked himself up to number 150 in the world ranking, though he’s currently 275. I’m not sure how old he is, but he came late to the game of badminton and set some high goals for himself (national champ and Olympics). As a slightly delusion girl myself I appreciate his ambition and the fact that he is actually doing it. Respect. I also like how his eternal goal is for self-improvement, both in badminton and in life. The message that comes across clearly in his blog isn’t “I want to be the best,” but “I want to always be getting better.” That’s a message I totally relate to.
Blog post to check out: Olympic Status. Despite dreaming of qualifying for the Olympics for 5 years he recently decided to give up the attempt for 2016 in Rio. It’s a very honest blog post that isn’t drowning in self-pity, but explained clearly and rationally.
Nicholas Bonkowsky Badminton Blog
Nicholas is a mid-level pro badminton player (ranked 273 in the world) who travels around the world for tournaments and adorably loses them within the first or second game. I’m not digging on him at all for that, and actually for the blog it is a boon because he then has time to travel around whatever exotic locale he is in and writes about it. He comes off as a really honest writer and shows some of the negative aspects of doing this for a living, such as crappy hotel rooms, and sacrificing a lot for badminton. But it’s also clear how much he likes the sport and how excited he is for every game. I wish I can keep the same level of optimism.
Photo taken from his website.
Blog post to check out: Life of an Average Athlete: In my Shoes. Fully owning his “average-ness” Nicholas lays out his growth as an athlete and sums up his entire career including all the up’s and down’s.
Toby NG The highest ranked player I could find with a blog (currently 31 in mixed doubles), Toby has the most professional looking blog of the bunch, but also the least amount of entries (it seems like his blog is a relatively new one too.) He’s very concerned about the Olympics because he has a really good chance to qualify. He writes about his passion and love for the sport, but the posts I found most interesting were the more technical ones.
From his blog I learned how teams qualify for the Olympics, and how weaker countries, like America and Canada, basically only get one slot to share (because Asia and Europe have such higher level players they qualify for more spots). So for the qualifying events it’s not good enough to be the best Canadian, but the Canadians have to beat the Americans to get the Pan America slot. Anyway, it’s interesting for me to learn about this and I’m glad I got into badminton on a year with the Olympics so I can watch how it unfolds.
Blog post to check out: Rio for Real. He does a way better job of explaining the Olympic qualifications then I just did.
These are really the only three badminton blogs that I have found worth checking out, which kinda sucks. I like reading blogs and I’d like to read some more first-hand accounts from both pros and amateurs. (And I’d like to read some about women too!)
Do you know of any good ones? Please share them in the comments!
Thanks for your blog, I empathise with many of your experiences on court! I’m from Sydney and train twice a week. I’m no pro though, I just love the sport 🙂 When i started playing there werent many badminton blogs…it would have been good to hear other people’s experiences. I started a blog at badmintonbeat.wordpress.com to make sense of it all. It’s a fun project during time off court!
Awesome! I read your blog and liked it a lot! Hope you keep playing and blogging about it! It’s always especially good to hear about women in sports, which isn’t a perspective we hear a lot from.
I’ll update this post and add you to it!
Badminton as a sport needs more attention and it is so refreshing to see a blog on my favorite sport. I am sure there are other badminton lovers out there who would love to be a part of the community. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hey Becky,
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing post. I think it helps peoples to find more information about badminton.
last month I have started a blog to help peoples to find the best resource. I’m trying to review lots of badminton equipment like Best Badminton Racket, Shoes etc. I hope you loved it. Also, I will try to post few useful tips.
Awesome! I read your blog and liked it a lot!
Thanks so much!
Great article. Lots of interesting bloggs, pity no blog about badminton betting sites.
I love badminton. It is like an athletic event that combines science and art.
Its a physical sports but with artistic moves on the court.
Thanks for the list Becky. I came across your blog and it is really good. Great information. Do you also have any recommendation for website where once can buy the Badminton Equipment at best price. I am from India and curretnly buy it from Sportsuncle.com as they seem to have best quality at best price.
I like to play badminton that,s why I love it
Great post. I have just got one mine published
https://www.badmintonshuttle.com/best-badminton-racket/
If you like it, feel free to share it! 🙂
I hope this article will be really help for all beginner badminton players.
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I am looking for a Badminton Blog writer with focus on United States Badminton trends and local Texas. Any suggestions? I can provide the material but need someone to write once every month to start with.