I’ve always enjoyed badminton. From a very early age, I remember serving shuttlecocks across to my father every Sunday morning at our neighbourhood community club — and having them served back to me with more venom than I would have liked. 

To me, the sport has always belonged indoors. I recall the still air of the halls, and the sound of shoes squeaking on the court. And after several unsatisfactory attempts at taking the game outdoors, I realised that the wind made it near impossible to control the shuttlecock.

Then AirBadminton came along and changed all of that. No more stuffy halls, no more squeaky shoes. Instead, I got to enjoy the game out in the open and the squeaks were replaced by chirping of birds. 

On a relatively breezy day, I experienced just how portable the game was. It took no longer than a couple of minutes to set up the collapsible net and base. Once that was sorted, we began playing, with the OCBC Square serving as our court of choice. We essentially turned an open plaza into our personal court. How cool is that? 

Once we got started, it felt like a refreshing change of pace to the conventional version because I never thought I could enjoy the sport in the presence of wind.  

The ability to play badminton in the great outdoors is due to an invention that was partly developed in Singapore — the AirShuttle. It took five years for the Institute for Sports Research at Nanyang Technological University and the Badminton World Federation to develop this new outdoor shuttlecock. 

Striking, sturdy and lightweight, the AirShuttles are a refreshing change to the conventional feather shuttlecocks. PHOTO: SINGAPORE SPORTS HUB

Bolstered with increased resistance to wind, it was designed to allow people to have a more positive experience of badminton outdoors. 

Prior to trying it out for myself, I had my reservations about the AirShuttle: Would it feel too heavy, since it resembles a plastic shuttlecock more than the regular feather one? How would it perform under windy conditions? Unveiled last year, the AirShuttle weighs approximately 8.5g — about 3g heavier than the average feathered shuttlecock, and looks slightly different from regular feather ones in terms of colour and design. It is able to resist wind up to 12kph.

It took no more than a couple of rallies before I realised that my skepticism was unfounded. The AirShuttle glided effortlessly across the air as you would expect any shuttlecock to, only this time, we were outdoors — with the sun on my face and the wind in my hair.

AirBadminton can be played by anyone, regardless of age, ability and level of experience, so your little ones can join in on the fun as well. All you need is the AirShuttle, a collapsible net and base, and regular badminton rackets.

The ability to play practically anywhere means that the days of vying for booking slots are over. And we can take the game everywhere — from the neighbourhood park to Botanic Gardens, from East Coast Park to even a beach on Sentosa — making it ideal for exploring and spending time in our local green spaces.

Note: Justin Chua is a writer with Singapore Press Holdings’ content marketing unit.