'Play badminton together': Hong Kong encourages teens to play badminton instead of having premarital sex

Hong Kong has turned the innocent game of badminton into a sexual innuendo, albeit unintentionally.

The Hong Kong Education Bureau last week released teaching materials, in which one module for Secondary Year 3 is titled "adolescents and intimate relationships". This module suggests that teenagers who wanted to have sex could "go out to play badminton together" instead.

'Play badminton together instead'

As expected, the badminton module invited a flood of mirth on social media, with users using the innuendo to crack ingenious andhilarious jokes.

On Instagram, one user comment played upon the popular slang Friends with Benefits, turning it into "Friends with badminton". The comment had over 1,000 likes.

"In English: Netflix and chill? In Cantonese, play badminton together?," said another user on Facebook.

Even professional badminton players could not resist poking fun at the Hong Kong Education department's innuendo.

On Meta's Threads, Olympics badminton player Tse Ying Suet asked her audience, "Everyone is making an appointment to play badminton. Is everyone really into badminton?"

Other badminton players aren't taking the jokes so well. Thomas Tang, an amateur player, said this has become a source of embarrassment."In the past, this was just a healthy sport, but now if you ask people to play badminton, they make a lot of jokes," he said.

Meanwhile, others are focusing on the logistics of the badminton suggestion.MP Doreen Kong, as per BBC, said that the badminton suggestion was unrealistic and asked,"How could they borrow a badminton racket on the spot if it happens?"

Mastering commitment and sexual fantasies

The education module also comes with a form titled "My Commitment" that is reportedly aimed at getting "Young lovers" to promise to exercise "self-discipline, self-control, and resistance to pornography".

As per BBC, the education bureau told teachers that the education module was in no way meant to encourage students to start dating or having sex. Instead, it said that it seeks to help them master ways of coping with sexual fantasies and impulses.

The document suggests for teachers to advise students on dressing "appropriately to present a healthy image and to avoid visual stimulation from sexy clothing", among other things.

(With inputs from agencies)