Players hit out at new ruling at German Open as BWF service law causes consternation
Chinese star Lin Dan is among the players to criticise the new law
Two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan slammed the experimental service rule saying it does not come from the players and the coaches but “a few people in a room”.
“I have played major and small tournaments for more than 10 years and trained more than three decades and now the world body comes to teach us how to serve,” said Lin on Weibo. “To be honest, this is really absurd.”
The new rule states the whole of the shuttlecock must be held at a fixed height of 1.15 metres from the surface of the court at the instant of being hit by the server’s racket.
Lin said many players at the German Open, including himself, were disadvantaged under the new rule and the focus of the match was no longer the players but match officials who could now decide the match. And the Beijing and London Olympic Games men’s singles champion went on to criticise the world governing body as the new rule has little scientific aids.
“I would have thought the world body would use new technology to help implement the rule, but in the end it’s the judges who use their eyes to decide if your serve is foul or not. There is nothing like the ‘hawk eye’ which is so convincing,” he said.
“I’m not attacking the judges as this is their job responsibility, but I just want to ask the world governing body: what do you want to achieve? What’s the meaning of changing the rule? Is it for the sake of the better development of badminton? From the bottom of my heart, it is not!”
Lin, the second seed, will meet Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka-long in the quarter-finals of the tournament. The duo last met at the Hong Kong Open in November when Lin prevailed after three tough games in the second round.
