All badminton lovers are well aware of the
new ruling, new tournament structure that was unfolded by the Badminton World
Federation (BWF), some drastic and bold movement was the prize money increased
and the new rules that have been imposed.
The BWF has made several changes this year
to make the sport more lucrative, famous, competitive, entertaining and
relevant in a bid to remain popular to people who enjoy sports and healthy
lifestyle.
But for the most popular and powerful
player in the world are affected by this rule that put the world under fire.
Lee Chong Wei, Viktor Axelsen, Lin Dan,
Chen Long, have taken a swipe at the world body’s rule to make it compulsory
for the top 15 men’s singles players and top 10 men’s doubles players to play
in a minimum 12 tournaments in this year’s World Tour.
This move made people felt that the World
Tour had turned from athlete-centered to commercial-focused. Lee Cong Wei said,
“Why then will they force us to play in so many tournaments? We’ll be penalized
if we don’t play. I hope the world body will put the interests of the players
first.”
We all know that Lin Dan, and Lee Chong Wei
had been serving us with amazing plays and competition this past decade but in
this time of their life they are preserving their strength to the most
important tournaments.
Axelsen echoed the same sentiment and
blamed the world body for not being sensitive enough to the plight of the
players. There will be physical repercussion on the players by playing in too
many tournaments.
Chong Wei, Lin Dan, Chen Long, and Axelsen
abided by the BWF’s rule and made a rare appearance at the ongoing Malaysia
Masters – a Level Four tournament – but they didn’t give their best.
Yes we can say that, they can do that by
not giving their best but that will hurt the player’s standing in the World in
the near future.
And who can blame them? The ones on the
losing end are always the fans, those who purchased the tickets were
short-changed and the home viewers are left disappointed.
Chong Wei has met up with BWF president
Poul-Erik Hoyer in Dubai last month to air his grievances. The top players have
spoken. BAM secretary Datuk Ng Chin Chai has sent an official letter to appeal
the decision.
The top brass in BWF have listened but
that’s not enough. It’s time to act – or else some of the tournaments will lose
their appeal and become a mockery.
We all hope that we can see our favorite
players play on the tournament that they want with all that they have with
their 110% power playing the badminton that we love.
Dominate The Game!
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