What is the age and entry requirements to become a badminton player?
by Low Shi Ying
(Selangor)
Question:"What is the age to become a badminton player? What is need to pass to able can become a badminton player?"
Hello Shi Ying, thanks for your question.
By becoming a badminton player, do you mean playing for the national badminton team?
Casual badminton can be played by anyone at any age. Young kids as young as 5 years old or elder people at the age of 60 can play badminton.
However I assume you're looking to play for your country. Different countries will have different rules stating the entrance requirement to become a badminton player.
Since you're from Malaysia, I'll try my best to answer your question. As I recalled, I've watched an interview by the general manager of the association, Kenny Goh, saying that the Malaysian Badminton Association starts looking for talented kids at the age of 13.
These kids will undergo badminton training until the age of 17 where the good ones will be drafted into the national team.
In order to be able to undergo badminton training at the national level, you'll definitely need to start young because badminton players on average, retire at the age of 30.
Before being able to participate in international tournaments, you'll need at least 1-2 years of badminton training with the national squad. However, this depends on your performance before you get to represent your country.
I know some Malaysian players who successfuly entered and represented Malaysia in several badminton events once they finished their Form 5 (year 11) examinations.
Let's get back to your question. In my opinion, if you're looking to get into the Malaysian badminton team, you'll need:
to be younger than 18 years old
to have strong badminton basics
to be physically fit (good stamina)
Since you're from Selangor, it's relatively easy for you to enquire and (maybe) register your interest at the office located at Bukit Jalil.
Malaysians' Shuttlers Dream
Lastly to finish off, I'd recommend you to watch the biography of the first Malaysians (in 25 years) to win the 2007 All England Gold medal, Koo Kien Kiat and Tan Boon Heong.
The videos are approximately 40 minutes, which highlights their stories on why and how they became part of the Malaysian badminton team and most importantly, how they became CHAMPIONS.
Side Note: Currently a big part of these videos are in Chinese and have no English subtitles. We will update it if there are translations available.