(Xports News Reporter Kim Hyun-ki) While the Badminton World Federation (BWF) directly refuted some claims that the introduction of the 15-point system, which passed the board of directors earlier this month, was a system to check Ahn Se-young, who has strong stamina and defense, saying, “It is not true at all,” various reactions are coming from China, where domestic players are scolded by Ahn Se-young.
Among them, there are even claims that BWF is giving preferential treatment by openly protesting to the Korean media that the introduction of the new system has nothing to do with Ahn Se-young.
BWF is taking steps to change the current 21-point 3-game (set) system to a 15-point 3-set system from the second half of next year. It passed the board of directors meeting early this month, and whether or not to introduce the new plan will be confirmed through a vote at the general meeting held around April next year.
The introduction of the 15-point 3-set system has a strong justification for protecting players. In the case of men’s and women’s singles, the BWF stipulates that players ranked 1st to 15th in the world must participate in four BWF Super 1000 competitions and six Super 750 competitions. In addition, players ranked 1st to 15th must participate in at least two of the nine Super 500 competitions.
In addition, the Olympics or World Championships are held every year, and the BWF World Tour Finals are held at the end of the year. The men’s and women’s team world championships and the mixed gender team world championships are held alternately every other year, and top Asian athletes such as Ahn Se-young will also have to participate in the Asian Championships in April and the Asian Games in September next year.
Since the Asian Games includes team events in addition to individual events, it can be seen that there are actually two competitions taking place. Including participation in the Super 300-level rehearsal competition for the All England Open (Super 1000) in March, Ahn Se-young participates in 17 to 18 competitions a year without stopping.
In the case of women’s singles or women’s doubles, where the intensity of smashes has decreased as badminton players’ defensive power has recently increased, the game time can approach 2 hours if it goes to 3 sets.
Following this trend, BWF is pushing for the introduction of a 15-point 3-set system to reduce game time and encourage exciting matches.
However, it is also true that the opinion that the introduction of this system may be disadvantageous for Ahn Se-young, who has strong defense and stamina, was strongly raised when the 15-point 3-set system passed the board of directors earlier this month. Some domestic media even used the expression, “BWF set out to kill Ahn Se-young.”
Accordingly, BWF, which was watching the reactions of Korean media and badminton fans, took action.
According to Yonhap News on the 28th, BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund explained in an official statement to Yonhap News, “Rather, this system reform is to create an environment in which top star players like Ahn Se-young can play for a longer period of time.”
President Lund continued, “The introduction of the 15-point system is an attempt to transform badminton into a dynamic and attractive sport in line with modern spectator trends.” He added, “By increasing the importance of rallies and establishing a competitive edge from the beginning of the game, we want to make badminton a faster and more exciting sport. Above all, reducing the number of points per game can ease the physical burden on players.”
Citing the fact that BWF had previously promoted reform of the scoring system, including the introduction of the 11-point 5-set system, it was also emphasized that the introduction of the 15-point 3-set system is an extension of efforts to change the scoring system.
However, as it appears that President Lund’s protest was in fact intended to dispel misunderstandings regarding a specific athlete named Ahn Se-young, various reactions are being expressed in China and Southeast Asia.
On Sohu.com and NetEase, there were positive opinions of their own, such as “Ahn Se-young could participate in more competitions and win,” “It cannot be seen as an advantage for Chinese players,” and “The 15-point system may not have much to do with Ahn Se-young.”
On the other hand, some somewhat sensitive opinions were raised, such as, “If it is not for the purpose of keeping Ahn Se-young in check, why does a high-ranking official of the World Federation send an official letter to the Korean media to express his opinion?” and “Isn’t Ahn Se-young receiving benefits?”
Apart from various opinions in the badminton world, Ahn Se-young gave a calm yet positive response to this system reform.
When on-site reporters, including Xports News, asked him a related question on his return from the BWF World Tour Finals tournament, he replied, “Of course, there will be some difficulties in the beginning. However, I think that as the game progresses, you will adapt and it will lead to good results. On the other hand, as the score decreases, the physical burden will be lessened. I think it would be good if you think about that.”
Photo = Yonhap News
Reporter Kim Hyun-ki spitfire@xportsnews.com
