Source:REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge
[Saba Sports News] Last week, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced at its council meeting that it has approved a new rule for a “15-point, best-of-three games” format. This new rule will be implemented after being passed at next year’s General Meeting, meaning that the current 21-point game format will be reduced, significantly shortening match duration.
The BWF explained that the increase in the number of events in the world tour has put a burden on athletes, and this modification aims to better protect players. As part of the reform plan, the BWF tested the 15-point format during the individual events of the Badminton World Junior Championships held this October.
The specific rules include: a player wins a game by being the first to reach 15 points; if the score reaches 14-14, a player must lead by two points to win that game; and a game can go up to a maximum of 21 points. Additionally, players will switch sides once one player reaches 8 points in each game.
Reactions to the BWF’s sudden rule change have been mixed in the badminton community. Allen Lee, the head coach of the Malaysian national youth badminton team’s women’s singles, believes that the 15-point format emphasizes speed and power at the expense of skill, potentially undermining the artistic nature of badminton.
Indonesian star Jonatan Christie also opposes the change to a 15-point scoring system, pointing out that the real issue in the sport is the overly tight schedule, which leads to consecutive injuries for players. However, some athletes feel that the reform could help alleviate the burden of a packed schedule, citing table tennis as an example, which switched from a 21-point format to an 11-point format in 2001.