Young players are being tested

The Badminton World Championship for athletes under 19 is being held for the 20th time. Talented young players from all over the world are competing, and many of them could become the defining players in the years to come. As per tradition, a team competition is held before the individual events, where national teams compete for the Suhandinata Cup. While the schedule remains traditional, the format is not.

The BWF (Badminton World Federation) is using the 2024 Junior World Championships as a test event, where the team competition is played under a new set of rules:

• Each tie consists of 10 matches (2 matches per each of the 5 disciplines).
• The first match ends when one team reaches 11 points (court change at 6 points).
• The second match continues from where the previous one ended and the new goal is to reach 22 points first. The losing side receives a minimum of 5 points, even if they didn’t score them during play.
• This continues until one team reaches 110 points, thereby closing the tie.
• The order of the matches is determined by a draw. The winner of the draw can choose the first and third matches.
• A player can participate in a maximum of 4 matches.
• If a player is scheduled for two consecutive matches, they don’t get any rest time.

This is the essence of the new system, which has sparked some controversy, though there are those who believe it makes the competition more exciting and gives each tie a true team competition atmosphere.

It can be compared to fencing, though there are some significant differences. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the new system.

Positives:

• Every point is more important, making each player’s role more significant.
• There are no meaningless matches, as there were in the old system after a 3-0 lead.
• Every player is guaranteed to participate (for example, in the knockout stages of the Thomas and Uber Cups, the remaining matches are not played once a tie is decided).
• It’s possible to come back from a significant deficit.

Negatives:

• Traditional matches, where the best of 3 sets are played, disappear.
• It’s harder to follow the action.
• One strong player could potentially turn the tie around alone (though this isn’t necessarily a disadvantage).
• Endurance doesn’t play as much of a role.

A similar system was tested at the 2018 Youth Olympics, but the rules have since been refined.