A professional badminton shuttlecock can travel faster than a Formula 1 car.

In 2013, Malaysian doubles star Tan Boon Heong set a world record by hitting a smash at 493 km/h (306 mph) during a racquet test for Yonex. For comparison, the top speed ever recorded in a Formula 1 race was 372.5 km/h (231.4 mph) by Valtteri Bottas at the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix. This makes badminton the fastest racquet sport in the world, far outpacing tennis and squash.The shuttlecock, or birdie, achieves these speeds due to its unique aerodynamic properties. It consists of 16 overlapping feathers, usually from the left wing of a goose, embedded in a cork base. This conical shape creates a high drag coefficient, meaning that while the initial speed is explosive, the shuttlecock decelerates faster than almost any other projectile in sports.Research conducted at the University of Sheffield shows that a shuttlecock can lose up to 30% of its speed by the time it reaches the net. This rapid deceleration is essential for the game, as it allows players to react to shots that would otherwise be physically impossible to return. The combination of extreme initial velocity and sharp flight decay defines the unique physics of elite badminton play.