Copenhagen City Hall, situated in the heart of the Danish capital, provided the backdrop for an AirBadminton court which attracted participants of all ages.

It was one of several locations where courts were situated in the build-up to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships which started on August 21 and is due to conclude today.

Badminton Denmark chief executive Kristian Langbak said he had been impressed by the number of people that took part in AirBadminton despite changeable conditions.

"It’s been in the city in different locations and we had a big spot by the City Hall," Langbak told insidethegames.

"We had two days when it was like a rainforest, but people still came.

"They waited and played again when the rain stopped.

"When the sun shone, it has been a huge success.

"It’s a very new aspect and I am excited to see if it has potential here in Denmark."

Denmark was one of the countries that had qualified to compete in AirBadminton at this year’s Association of National Olympic Committees World Beach Games in Bali.

However, the multi-sport event, which was originally scheduled to take place from August 5 to 12, was cancelled with organisers blaming the Indonesian Government for failing to provide the necessary funding.

Despite the disappointment of the cancellation, BWF secretary general Thomas Lund insisted that the organisation had learned a lot from the process of preparing AirBadminton for the event.

"Because of the popularity of badminton in Indonesia, they said they wanted AirBadminton at the World Beach Games," Lund told insidethegames.

"Suddenly without having reached the point of having matured the community of AirBadminton, we were at the top of the tree.

"It was a great opportunity and we have worked hard to get there.

"It didn’t happen which was not good, but we are in the very early days of AirBadminton.

"In our view it has a future potential to create transfers between badminton and AirBadminton.

"We hope to stay in or at least be invited [to the ANOC World Beach Games] because it was a good opportunity.

"When we were suddenly invited, we said ‘We ready for this?’

"We could have said no and waited but we jumped on it and did our best.

"We established qualifying tournaments and had players and teams ready to go.

"It was not wasted as we rushed to get it there and it finally didn’t happen but we learnt a lot on the way and we have a better base now.

"It’s a journey a bit like beach volleyball which is a fantastic journey that volleyball has been through.

"We see a similar pathway."

AirBadminton was launched in May 2019, to create opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to play badminton on all surfaces around the world.

"AirShuttles" are used to play, with increased resistance to the wind.

Triples and mixed doubles matches are played with a best of five games, with a game won by reaching 11 points.

A mixed team relay has five matches - including women's doubles, men's doubles and mixed doubles.

There are also two triples games - one with two men and a woman on each side and one with two women and one man.

The first match will end when one team reaches 16 points, with the next match taking over the score.

When a team in the fifth match reaches 80 points, the contest is over.

"We have done things to make it fit for purpose, secure and fun," added Lund.

"It is probably something that taps into sun, beach and being trendy.

"That’s how we are positioning this one.

"We want to go out to reach new target groups that want to play it everywhere and anywhere.

"In the beginning, we never discussed that this should be a competitive, top level, elite sport.

"It was created to transcend from a badminton player to a beach AirBadminton player or the other way around.

"We saw a big synergy between the two and just wanted to get more players to play and with more fun and excitement around the world."