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Sporting smasher, big noise in the world of equestrianism? (9,6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

badminton racket

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'sporting smasher' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how they can define each other.

'big noise in the world of equestrianism?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'big' could be 'bad' ('bad' can be a synonym of 'big') and 'bad' is found in the answer.
'noise' could be 'racket' (racket is a kind of noise) and 'racket' is found in the answer.
'in' is found in the answer.
'of' could be 'o' and 'o' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for badminton racket that I've seen is " One providing shuttle service".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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