Himalayauk himalaya Gaurav Uttarakhand
Sport in India is increasingly turning towards games that are shorter, faster, and of course, glamourous. Be it cricket, hockey, kabaddi or badminton, they are bringing crowds in.
London Olympics bronze medalist Saina Nehwal feels the latter could work well, but should not be adopted by the BWF before extensive testing. “It’s a tough format. If someone takes six points, then it’s going to be tough to catch up. In this format, you’re going to miss rallies that you see in the longer one. But for a team event like the PBL, it’s fine because it goes on for a long time,” she said.
The ongoing Premier Badminton League 2 seems to have done its bit to pull in the people, and there are talks that the Badminton World Federation (BWF) might even experiment with this format. The BWF has tried switching between 21 and 15 points in the past. But the 11-point format could very well be the future. The 21-point format can throw up some long rallies that require a lot of skill, while the 11-point format is the slam-bang version.
Badminton players are used to the 21-point format, and it will take time to adjust, she feels. “It’s all smash and grab. It takes a little time to adjust to the shorter format. But I don’t mind playing it in other tournaments. It’s just that the rallies will go away and it’ll not be much fun to view matches. Such a format might even have a feel of a doubles game.”
“They’ll have to check it in Super Series competitions. It’s not that you can trial it in Grand Prix Gold events but use it during Super Series ones. You also have to consult players, and if they object to such a format, then things will not change. Maybe they can try it at a couple of tournaments and see how it goes,” stated the Bengaluru-based shuttler.
