When you are deep in the back court and you hit a cross court smash, it’s a big ‘no’- your partner will be in trouble. And if you don’t return to the middle after every shot in singles, you are committing a sin. So, it’s also about your upper portion.

If I search ten friends I ever made, seven got in touch because of badminton. The remaining three were either classmates or neighbors. And if I think of medals won, badminton easily remained a reliable jab throughout my university life. Honestly, it’s one of the things I can ask in heaven too.

I call it a rarity since it’s played by few, known by few. It has a unique world. It’s very expensive. It’s sensitive and it’s beautiful.

 For many living in Pakistan, badminton isn’t a big deal. It’s considered a girl’s affair. And you hardly see badminton matches on TV. People get a set of steel rackets costing PKR 300 and a shuttle available for PKR 30 from any local store.  For the next one week, they will miserably assault the same shuttle until its feathers reach ICU. Interestingly, people ignore outdoor conditions for an essentially indoor sport. God, they can’t even wear a proper kit. And they think they played badminton.

Look at India. They got coaches and trainers. Yeah, I am going to appreciate them. Why not? Indian sports fans are proud of Saina Nehwal, who became first Indian women's player to be World No.1 in badminton. And it never happens without hard work. In contrast, we don’t even have proper badminton courts in the country. Of course, we have been playing cricket for years, other games don’t exist in our small minds. And like every other issue, policy seems to be missing in this department too.

Talking about badminton, it’s one of the rare games that make your dinner tastier. Eating home cooked food after a grueling badminton match is matchless. Training is even harder than the match, if done properly with a coach. But it keeps you fit.

Not many people know that badminton is the fastest racquet sport of the world. It’s so fast that it allows limited space to fit in an advertisement during the game. Smashes (fastest being around 400kph) and quick reactions required to keep your opponent guessing have possibly made badminton the fastest sport in the world.

So a little bit of wrist work and some muscles in your legs are required. And if you are about to play a tournament, badminton will test your nerves too. A lot of it can be learned online while watching thrilling clashes between Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei but the real fruit comes when you train hard.