Many top players have started to question the computer system/software used by BWF to make draws for tournaments.
Anthony Sinisuka Ginting faces Ng Ka Long Angus in the first round of the Hong Kong Open which starts this week. He also faced Ng Ka Long in the first round last week in Fuzhou.
In fact Ng Ka Long and Ginting has met each other 4 times this year – with ALL four times in the first round.
The four tournaments are:-
All England Badminton Championships (Won by Ng Ka Long)
Badminton Asia Championships (Won by Ng Ka Long)
Fuzhou China Open (Won by Ng Ka Long)Yonex Sunrise Hong Kong Open
BWF uses its own computer software to make the draws for tournaments, except Thomas/Uber Cup and Sudirman Cup, where the draws are streamed publicly.
This issue with the BWF draws gained traction when Anders Antonsen wrote about this on his social media. He pointed out that Mathias Boe/ Mads Conrad have met with Zhou Hao Dong/ Han Cheng Kai in the FIRST round for the 4th time in the last 5 tournaments. The statistical probability of this happening is only 0.00144%.
Olympic champion Chen Long also raised the same concern during the Fuzhou China Open. Chen Long, Lin Dan, Lu Guangzu and Huang Yuxiang were placed next to one another in the draws. This meant that the four players from China had to face each other in the 1st and 2nd rounds.
“I have never seen a draw like this in my career. BWF should do the draws in public,” said Chen Long.
In its statement to Xinhuanet.com, BWF assured that the draws for tournaments are completely random and they will look into the concerns regarding irregularities
Authors : Koijam K and Antio Despi