Badminton World Federation holds with 21-Point Format System

World badminton governing body Badminton World Federation (BWF) bethought of the 21-point format system and summing the best of three games format. The players and coaches are very happy with the decision as the Tokyo Olympics is just two years away.

National chief coach Pullela Gopichand said that sticking to the old format is good. He said, “The 21-point format is more comfortable as the Tokyo Olympics is around the corner.”

Previously, the announcement of 11-point and the best of five format games created havoc among the sports fraternity, who expressed that 21-point format is better.

Worlds silver medallist PV Sindhu expressed contentment for not holding on to 11-point format. “The 21-point format, always, tests the endurance and speed of the players unlike 11-point, which is more of speed and power. BWF has respected players’ sentiment,” she said.

And it is not the first time that BWF experimenting with the scoring system. Previously, for the 15 years, the world federation had been changing the scoring system. If the 15-point format was successful, the 7-point format was a flop show.

Bhaskar Babu, the former national coach, said, “The 7-point format was a failure, but 15-point format was alive for several years. Yet, removal of 15-point broke the chinese dominance, as it was the service game. The 21-point format brought more rallies and more excitement. The BWF has taken the right decision to continue with 21-point game format.”

Syed Mohammed Arif, the former chief coach said, “BWF looks to gather more television audience. They also must have that present 21-point format is not attracting revenue from advertisers. Perhaps that could be the reason for BWF to experiment with the faster 11-point game.”

“Few years ago, the game was filled with aggressive rallies. Today, players have developed strategies and improved their defence. Over the years, the rallies have become longer as well. I would say that it is more of better strategy to emerge winner,” he believed.

He further said, “The 11-point format could perhaps shorten the game. The players are used to the 21-point format and perhaps BWF did the right thing to continue. with it.”