KUALA LUMPUR: The Badminton World Federation (BWF) are of the opinion that the new rule on service which will be implemented as a first step in making the game easier and more objective has been well received.
BWF secretary-general, Thomas Lund, said that after carrying out experiments in two championships so far, the sport’s world governing body have received positive feedback from technical officials.
"The reaction received from the badminton community from across the world has been interesting. The feedback from match umpires who suggested the introduction of new equipment to help them make the right call when players serve has been really helpful.
"We also received feedback from a few singles players who said that they have no problem or issues with the new service rule.
"BWF have received many complaints about the service rule for so long and wanted to make sure that the new rule is implemented fairly and correctly.
"For certain any changes made will take time to implement and it will receive different responses from many sides. BWF will take into account all views and aspects before making a final decision,” said Lund via a media statement issued earlier today (Thursday).
The new rule to be introduced by BWF sees players needing to make sure that the shuttlecock must be at a height of not more than 1.15m from the surface of the court when about to serve.
Before this, BWF stipulated that the shuttlecock must be at a height of not more than 1.1m when serving.
The new rule was tested during the German Open and All England, though it drew the ire of players who are physically taller, such as two-time Olympic gold medallist Lin Dan of China.
Speaking in the criticism levelled at the new rule, Lund said: “During the meeting for the implementation of the new rule, BWF had already engaged in discussions with head coaches of the sport’s top countries.
"And at the meeting, the coaches agreed to carry out tests for the maximum height to be set, and we ensured that we got everyone to agree before experimenting and implementation,” he said.