'Disappointed with BWF' – Vimal Kumar on newly proposed scoring system

The Badminton World Federation proposed a new scoring system in the sport earlier this month. As per the new format, which will be tested in select competitions later this year, each of the three games will last a total of 15 points instead of the current 21-point system.

In case the players are level at 15-15, the first to either open up a two-point advantage or to reach 21 points will win the game.

The newly proposed format hasn't gone down well with top shuttlers including the likes of two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, Indian ace HS Prannoy and others.

They have all expressed their apprehensions, stating that the new format essentially takes the skill and endurance required in the sport.

India's top badminton coach Vimal Kumar, who has worked with the likes of Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu, echoed the same sentiment on Monday.

"If you shorten the score and take away the toughness, it [badminton] will just become a bashing game," said Vimal in The Playmakers, a LIVE panel discussion hosted by The Bridge.

"That's not what badminton is...there should be rallies, spectators should be enjoying the rallies. 70-80 minutes [for a match] is nothing. That's the tough part of the sport," he added.

Tanvi Lad, a former Indian international and two-time Uber Cup medallist, wasn't as dismissive of the idea, but maintained that the proposed change might not be the best of ideas for the sport currently.

"If I take a step back and look at this proposed change, the BWF is looking at making the sport more broadcast friendly, more viewership friendly to engage with both casual and hardcore friendly," said Lad.

"However, there are a lot of low hanging fruits which can be tackled first before tinkering with the scoring system which forms the basis of the sport," she added.

Vimal Kumar agreed on the need to focus on improvements in other areas.

"I am little disappointed that BWF is only focusing on scoring system," he said. "The federation needs to look at other changes in the sport.

"They should be doing more things in respect to referrals, line decisions, players rights, playing conditions, and the shuttlecocks. When you give ideal playing conditions, the players will play to their potential," he added.

Lad, meanwhile, asserted that the overall quality of the sport might decline due to this change. She stressed that rallies will disappear altogether as players try to win quick points to get an early advantage in the match.

"From a players perspective, you will come in with the mindset that I need to win quick points," Lad said. "That's where the quality of every rally, point is going to take a hit.

"When you enter a match 3x21 match, you have trained your mind to maybe assess the condition...is there drift in the hall, what is my opponent trying to do, and pick up the pattern. Now you won't have that option, you will to jump into it right from get go," she added.

Both of them maintained that the modern day players are physically a lot fitter than from those in the previous generations. Longer matches, for them, is not an issue.

The actual problem lies in the scheduling of matches – a point which Axelsen has raised – with no proper time to recover.

"Everyone's fit, strong, training using latest techniques in sport science. It boils down to the mind, tactics, and your technique on court," said Lad.

"If you look at a Grand Slam in Tennis, those matches stretch to four-five hours. What is 70-80 minutes?," she questioned.

Vimal Kumar asserted that if the changes have to be implemented, it should only be in the three doubles discipline. Singles should stay the same, he opined.

"If at all you want to reduce scoring duration, they should not touch the two singles events," stated Vimal. "They are the prime events. Whether you like it or not people look up to a singles match.

"Then comes men's doubles, mixed doubles and women's doubles...there you can maybe try the 15 points system like in tennis," he added.

Lad, meanwhile, felt that the proposed format will be better for the series or challenger events where players have to play in two or three matches a day and not in bigger events like the Super 1000s.

"Experimenting with scoring format in some of the national leagues or lower level tournaments might be something to consider but definitely not tinker with the Super 1000s," she said. "At a series or challenger level where players have to play two or three matches a day, that's where it might be wise to experiment with this."

Lad, who also works with leagues like World Tennis League and World Padel League, maintained that shortening the points system won't essentially lead to more viewership or commercial success.

"As far viewership and business side of sport is concerned, I feel its a bad idea to incorporate this scoring system especially at higher level," she said.

"It is okay to maybe incorporate it in national leagues, which are anyways there to build the sport and help the players create a brand and personality outside the regular circuit.

"That's where quicker, shorter games, brigning in brand endorsements, advertisements placements might help commercialise the sport," she added.

This is not the first time BWF has proposed a change in scoring system of badminton. As recently as 2021 there was a proposal to turn the sport into five games of 11 points each. The proposal had then received a significant amount of votes during the global body's annual general meeting but fell just short of the required two-third majority.

There even was a seven-point system tried out in late 2001 and early 2002 before it was scraped. The current 21-point three games system was introduced back in 2006.