SINGAPORE - AirBadminton made its official debut in Singapore at the Badminton Festival held at HeartBeat @ Bedok on Saturday (Nov 23), following the new sport's unveiling by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in May.

Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) vice-president Robert Lim said: "Badminton has a rich history in Singapore and many people love and play the game regularly.

"However, players are limited by the number of badminton courts we have here in land-scarce Singapore. With AirBadminton, we would be able to play it in more areas such as parks, gardens and beaches and raise the popularity of the sport among Singaporeans."

Unlike traditional indoor badminton, AirBadminton involves a unique shuttlecock that is resistant to wind. As such, people of all ages can play it outdoors on hard, grass and sand surfaces, in parks, gardens, streets, playgrounds and even beaches.

The rules and game play of AirBadminton is largely similar to badminton game, with some slight differences. AirBadminton can be played as a singles game, doubles and even triples.

A game is decided over five sets, with the first player to score nine points winning the set. However, the number of points and sets to win a game can be varied, just as in traditional badminton competitions.

Supported by the SBA, People's Association (PA) and ActiveSG, the launch of AirBadminton at HeartBeat @ Bedok also saw friendly matches involving national intermediate squad players Lucas Saw, Qayum Noor, Tan Shi Bin, Johaan Prajogo, Sabrina Lee and Alexis Lee in an outdoor court.

Teams also competed to be crowned the first-ever AirBadminton Singapore champions.

Former SBA president Lee Yi Shyan, who is also an MP for East Coast GRC, said in a video played at the event: "We are happy this launch has got the support of the BWF, SBA, ActiveSG, and PA, and we hope that it would be popular among all our residents and amongst sportsmen and women."