Badminton World Federation (BWF) addressed the scepticism surrounding the proposed change to the scoring system which it hopes to bring very soon.
The proposal to change the scoring system to 11 points, 5 games, also popularly referred to as 11X5, will be put up for a vote on Saturday, 22 May.
Last month, Viktor Axelsen had directed some criticism towards the BWF and mentioned that “it is not possible for the players to vote” in the big decision about the scoring system.
BWF defended its decision not to take much input from the players in making the critical decision this year and said, “Prior to the 2018 proposal, the players were consulted through various questionnaires and feedback received through the BWF Athletes’ Commission.”
“It is fair to say that a majority of players were sceptical about the change and have reservations about whether the change is right for badminton.
“We believe that opinions from players are likely to be similar (this year) …”
The scoring system has received a lot of support from many who believe that it will increase the excitement in the match, which it promises to bring. Badminton Europe, Badminton Denmark, Badminton Association of Indonesia and Badminton Maldives have publicly shown support for the change.
There has also been a lot of criticism on the 11×5 scoring system from the general public and experts alike. Some say there will be less tension in the match as the games are shorter, while others say physicality and stamina which play a key role in badminton will be gone from the game.
Some fear that skill will become less dominant of a factor in deciding the outcome of a match.
Regarding this, BWF said, “It is only natural to resist change when you are a top performer under the current system.
“We are convinced, however, that the champions of today will also be champions under the newly-proposed system.”
“This change is very unlikely to alter who wins or loses. However, the new scoring system will require players to be even more focused from the start of matches,” it added.
