Net Net - India’s Badminton Subculture

Guess what screams through the air at a whopping 565 km per hour? Not a peregrine falcon. Not a bullet train. Not even a Bugatti on the freeway.

It’s a shuttlecock flying off the racquet of an Indian champion who set the Guinness record for the fastest smash.

In ‘Net-Net’, episode 4 of Economies of Khel, economist Rahul De and media studies expert Kailash Koushik analyse the curious subculture and economic currents shaping one of India’s most cherished sports. They explore how badminton has woven itself into the social fabric of India.

For a sport that began in India as a British colonial import confined to Gymkhana clubs, badminton’s undemanding nature and accessibility helped it to permeate Indian society, carving out a special niche within middle-class neighbourhoods . It became one of the few sports where men and women could ...