Players will adapt, whatever the system

BA of Malaysia (BAM) have taken a neutral stand as far as the new 11x5 scoring system is concerned.

This comes after the Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced on Saturday that they will vote to change the sport’s scoring system from the 21x3 format to 11x5 at their annual general meeting (AGM) next month.

BAM coaching director, Wong Choong Hann, said: “We are neutral about it. It is still too early to say yes or no to it because it’s an institutional decision.

“Our minds are on the Olympics. We won’t want to think too much about the new scoring format.”

According to the former World No 1, who has experienced three scoring systems (15x3, 7x5, 21x3) throughout his playing career, all players will eventually get used to the new format.

Some may adapt faster, but it will reach a plateau, leaving no one behind.

“We have already experienced three scoring formats in the past, and we all adapted to them.

“Back then, when a new system was introduced, everybody thought it was going to be faster.

“However, once everyone adapted to it, each match still went back to last between 40 and 50 minutes.

“It will be normal again in my personal experience. It will be the same for the 11x5 system.

“The competitiveness and enjoyment will still be there for spectators, while for the players, it will be still the same.

“No one player will have an advantage. Eventually, you will still need to plan to score at the crucial moments.

“As for fitness level, the players can adjust to it. Whatever (game) you own will still be presented.”

At the moment, BAM are more concerned with preparing their players for the Tokyo Olympics, especially as the qualification enters its final lap.

“One step at a time, we can’t be focusing on this and that. We need to ask ourselves, is it something we can control or not within our arm’s length?

“We need to prioritise the task at hand, and that is to get our players ready for the Olympics.

“For the new scoring format, when it comes, it comes,” Choong Hann concluded.

There were two previous attempts to change the scoring system to the 11x5 format.

The 11x5 system was voted upon during the AGM in Bangkok in 2018, but it failed to garner the two-thirds majority required to implement it.

It was also experimented with in 2014, with several tournaments adopting the 11x5 format but the proposal was eventually defeated.