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What's the story?
On May 18, on the eve of the Thomas and Uber Cup, delegates from the international federation’s 189 member associations will gather in Bangkok, Thailand. At the gathering, the BWF Council will propose a number of rule changes.
In case you didn't know...
The BWF has been mulling over a few changes in a bid to enhance the fan experience and the quality of the sport which will ensure that the shuttle sport remains competitive in the dynamic cutting-edge sports-entertainment industry.
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Among the proposed changes, the new widely criticised service rule has been in practice since the German Open in March. The other two proposals are:
i) regularizing a new scoring system of five sets to 11,
ii) reducing on-court coaching; starting time-out options for players.
The heart of the matter
In a bid to amend the laws of the game, the sport’s governing body will be seeking a mandate from its membership. BWF President Poul-Erik Hoyer spoke about the significance of the meeting and how the proposals were aimed at making the sport more captivating.
"This will be a very significant meeting with important matters to be decided. The overall aim of these proposals is to make badminton more exciting by creating more peaks in matches,” Hoyer said.
“We want to increase the entertainment value for fans, while also shortening the length of matches. Timeouts will be a new feature and will mean players will have to rely on their own instincts and ideas more, rather than getting as much coaching as they do now,” he added.
What's next?
The delegates will vote on the council's proposals on May 19 at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Author's take
Having been implemented on an experimental basis since 2014, the 11x5 format scoring system has been in practice in the lower-tier tournaments. However, as per reports, not everyone is keen on embracing it. If the proposals are accepted, the sport will see major changes but we will have to wait and see how it pans out.
