Fifty Years of Trends and Evolution in Badminton Research and Performance Evaluation

In this chapter, we conducted a comprehensive bibliometric evaluation of badminton research spanning the past five decades. The evaluation demonstrates a clear progression through three developmental phases, viz. a dormant stage that is characterised by limited scholarly output, a transitional phase of gradual expansion, and an exponential growth phase driven by technological advancements and greater global engagement. The analysis further shows a thematic transition from early emphases on biomechanics, injuries, and performance towards contemporary areas such as machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, and advanced sports analytics. Geographical patterns indicate that China leads global scientific production, followed by India and South Korea, with moderate contributions from Malaysia, Indonesia, and several Western nations, highlighting the influence of competitive success and government-supported sports science infrastructures in Asia. Moreover, the thematic and co-occurrence analyses further highlight the convergence of biomechanics, cognitive science, and computational modelling, coupled with a predominance of injury-related studies focused on ACL and Achilles tendon injuries, with more emphasis on male players. Overall, the findings in this chapter accentuate a paradigm shift towards technology-enhanced performance assessment, cognitive and physiological optimisation, as well as injury prevention in badminton. This further situates badminton research firmly within the evolving landscape of innovative sports science.