A badminton shuttlecock hit the glasses, causing them to break and splash into the eyes, causing conjunctival congestion. Photo = Cureus Journal
Badminton is a convenient sport that anyone can enjoy. However, there are surprisingly many cases of serious eye injuries while playing badminton, so caution is needed.
Ophthalmology staff at the National Medical University of Malaysia disclosed the cases of seven patients who suffered eye trauma while playing badminton.
The medical team found 17 cases of patients who visited the hospital with eye trauma that occurred while playing badminton between March 2021 and November 2025. Among them, we focused on analyzing the cases of seven people who had initial medical treatment photos.
As a result of the analysis, most of the seven patients were young and there were more men than women. Specifically, a 9-year-old boy, a 16-year-old male, a 17-year-old male, a 31-year-old male, a 37-year-old male, a 62-year-old male, and a 40-year-old female suffered eye injuries from badminton.
Badminton eye injuries were mainly caused by impact from a shuttlecock, and only one eye was damaged. There were four cases of being hit directly by a shuttlecock, two cases of damage due to broken glasses, and one case of being hit by a racket.
The medical staff explained, “Most patients had relatively good visual acuity in the beginning, but two had already had significantly reduced visual acuity,” adding, “Especially when corneal sclera laceration and hyphema hemorrhage occurred, it led to serious visual impairment.” Corneal scleral laceration refers to a tear in the cornea and sclera, the outer walls surrounding the eye. Hyphema is the accumulation of blood in the space between the cornea and the iris (the anterior chamber).
In particular, a 16-year-old male patient suffered fatal injuries when fragments of broken glasses penetrated his eyeball. The medical staff explained, “Emergency eye suture surgery was performed, but the prognosis was not good.”
In Malaysia, badminton accounts for about two-thirds of sports-related eye trauma cases. A study conducted in the UK also found that 14.3% of sports-related eye injuries were related to badminton.
The medical staff emphasized, “You can suffer serious eye trauma while playing badminton, but the risk is not well known,” and added, “It is important to wear protective glasses when playing badminton.”
Reporter Su-min Lee ([email protected])
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