BWF to discuss change in scoring system in annual meeting

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) will put forth a proposal to alter the badminton scoring system to best-of-five games of 11 points each from the current best-of-three games of 21 points at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on May 22.

Several proposals from member associations will be discussed during the AGM, most notably a proposal from Badminton Indonesia and Badminton Maldives, seconded by Badminton Asia, to amend the "Laws of Badminton relating to the Scoring System", the BWF said.

The world governing body for the sport added that the BWF Council had taken forward the proposal and the voting will take place in May, Xinhua news agency reported.

BWF president Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen said he welcomed the proposal. "The proposed scoring- system change is part of my vision to make badminton more exciting and to increase the entertainment value for stakeholders and fans.

"The last time this topic was tabled, it did resonate with a significant section of our membership with a narrow verdict met. We concede the timing was not right back then but I'm pleased to see this being driven by the membership once more," he said.

BWF has previously put forward the proposal to make the sport more attractive to the audience and reduce the length of matches. But the proposal was turned down.

Larsen said the proposal, if adopted this time, will come into force after the Tokyo Olympics. "This (system) is proposed to be introduced after the (2021) Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. So, I'm confident this is a more favourable time to effect the change," he said.

The AGM will also elect the BWF president, deputy president, and vice-president (Para Badminton). Elections will be conducted virtually.