Scientists have discovered how to make badminton competitions truly fair.

Most major badminton competitions are held on indoor courts to minimize the impact of wind on the lightweight shuttlecock. However, even in such environments, air movement affects the trajectory of the shuttlecock.

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems are essential for any sports facility, but the specifics of badminton make the organization of airflows critically important. A lightweight shuttlecock made from feathers can be shifted by even a slight and slow movement of air.

This phenomenon, known as "wind drift," remains a topic of debate at tournaments. While completely shutting off ventilation may seem like an obvious solution, it causes physical discomfort for players and spectators, and negatively impacts the quality and results of the game. People need to breathe air rich in oxygen, especially during intense physical and mental exertion.

A team of researchers led by Karthik Jayanarasimhan studied court designs in relation to airflow movement. The scientists found that an ideal badminton court should feature an arched roof and a cross-ventilation system. The authors of the study suggested that different configurations of roof shapes and ventilation schemes could reduce "wind drift." Their article was published in the journal Physics of Fluids.

To determine the optimal roof shape for minimizing "wind drift," the researchers modeled airflows in a stadium with an arched roof and ventilation openings directed in various directions. They compared the results with a flat-roof model to understand how its shape influences airflows.

"The recommendations from this study can be applied when constructing new badminton stadiums, where the type of roof and the placement of ventilation openings can be chosen based on our calculations and suggestions," noted Jayanarasimhan.

The researchers acknowledged that it is impossible to retrofit every badminton stadium according to their recommendations. However, upgrading the ventilation openings in stadiums with arched roofs would be a good solution. Changing the roof shape would be significantly more expensive. The scientists' findings also emphasize the importance of selecting areas on the court with minimal wind drift for badminton games.

Jayanarasimhan hopes that their data will help the sports community realize that there are more effective solutions to combat wind drift than simply shutting off ventilation. The research group is preparing to explore other roof configurations, the deviation of the shuttlecock's trajectory under different wind directions, and to work on existing indoor badminton stadiums.