The Badminton Association of India says 5% of Indians play badminton, and a survey by YouGov suggests it is the second most played sport, behind cricket.

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Indeed, since Obama came into office waving an enormous olive branch in Teheran's direction, the regime has become more outspoken in its hostility toward the US. It has humiliated Washington by refusing visas to America's women's badminton team to play their Iranian counterparts.

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Organisers last week told BBC Sport the 25-year-old would take part, but Indonesian badminton officials have now confirmed that he will not play.

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Fields cookies is like saying: A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown that people who limit their athletic activities to curling and badminton are less likely to require knee operations than people who play contact sports.

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