Dan slams BWF move on scoring system
For badminton powerhouse China and its fans, the recent ruling of the world body ( BWF) — not to award wild cards for the forthcoming World Championships in Copenhagen — has come as a blow. Last year, Chinese superstar Lin Dan entered the Worlds via a wild card and went on to clinch his fifth title in Guangzhou.
Going by the eligibility criteria this year, Lin — arguably the greatest player of all time with five world, two Olympic and five all- England titles under his belt — is unlikely to make the cut, as he is in the reserved list. Every nation can field four players, including three from the top- 8, in a draw of 64 in men’s singles. Thus, Super Dan is sure to miss the flight to Denmark in August.
Lin, currently not very regular on the international circuit, last month returned to action after an eight- month lay- off in grand style at the China Masters and Asian Championships, only to improve his world rankings to 58 but then it was too little too late.
Lin was disappointed about the current scenario, but said he “respect the decision”.
“I did want to play in the World Championships. But one has to follow the format of the game; you can’t do anything about it. I am not arguing about that.
“I think, as a professional player it’s not right to judge your success by one World Championships. I just want to continue playing well,” said the 30year- old.
“I couldn’t play my best in my first game. It is a good test for me here as there will be tougher opponents coming up,” he said on the tie.
On the BWF’s proposed new scoring system, Lin was more critical. “I don’t like it. The scoring system has been changed quite a few times from 9 to 15, then to 21. I think changing the system time and again is not good for the game.”