[Saba Sports News] The 2026 Badminton Asia Championships will be held from April 7 to 12 at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center in China. As the highest-level individual badminton tournament in Asia, it represents the pinnacle of competitive badminton in the region. Therefore, every match is a showdown between top players.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) attaches great importance to this competition, and state-of-the-art Hawk-Eye technology will be used for all matches. Since Hawk-Eye is a proprietary monopoly technology, the related equipment is only available for rent, not for sale. According to media reports, the rental cost of the Hawk-Eye instant replay system for a single court is as high as $140,000. Under the Hawk-Eye rules, each player is allowed only two challenges per match. If a player disagrees with a referee’s call, they may request a challenge. The referee will review the disputed moment via the Hawk-Eye system and decide whether to overturn the original call based on its verdict.
However, despite sounding highly sophisticated, Hawk-Eye is not absolutely accurate. It has a margin of error of approximately 3 millimeters, and its accuracy can also be affected by lighting conditions. In badminton, whether a shuttlecock is in or out is determined by whether its head lands on the line. Yet Hawk-Eye displays the entire shuttlecock rather than focusing solely on the head. Simply put, in the system’s calculation, a shot is still ruled in if the feathers slightly graze the sideline.
In my opinion, a complete Hawk-Eye system requires 8 to 10 high-speed cameras, dedicated servers, and large display screens, resulting in extremely high installation and maintenance costs. Even so, it plays an irreplaceable role in improving the fairness of judgments and reducing disputes.