Players to use synthetic shuttlecocks from next year onwards
THE STAR
Tuesday, 21 Jan 2020
By TAN MING WAI
Fly away: The traditional feather shuttlecocks currently being used in competitions around the world will be replaced with synthetic ones from next year.
PETALING JAYA: It’s finally happening – the traditional feather shuttlecocks will be replaced with synthetic ones in all Badminton World Federation (BWF) sanctioned tournaments from next year.
The BWF research and development unit had been carrying out extensive testing of various prototypes over the last few years and Yonex and the world body announced yesterday that the ground-breaking move has been given the go-ahead.
The main aim of these changes is to ensure long-term sustainability and cost-effectiveness. Traditional shuttlecocks are made from feathers plucked from live geese.
During matches, the traditional shuttlecock can be easily damaged and needs to be replaced several times throughout a game.
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BWF, in a statement yesterday, said the experiments showed that the synthetic feather shuttle could reduce shuttlecock usage by up to 25%, providing a significant environmental and economic edge for badminton.
BWF secretary general Thomas Lund hailed the introduction of sythetic shuttlecocks as “a positive step for the sport”.
“The vision is to ensure is to become less dependent on natural feathers for shuttlecocks,” said Lund.
“We heard from some elite players involved in the testing of the Yonex synthetic feather shuttlecock say that they were able to adjust to the slight variances between the synthetic version and the traditional natural shuttlecock quite quickly, so is great news.”
While Lund claimed that, it remains to be seen, however, if the synthetic shuttlecocks will be well received by players on the World Tour, especially the big guns.
Synthetic shuttlecocks were previously tested only in three lower-tier tournaments in 2018 – Italian International, United States International Challenge and Indonesian International Challenge.
National badminton legend Lee Chong Wei has mixed feelings about the synthetic shuttlecocks. The retired 37-year-old, who took part in the testings back in 2017, said the difference is “massive”.
“I’m not sure if they are going to implement the use of the shuttlecocks that we tested previously. If it is, then there’s a huge difference,” said Chong Wei.
“Those shuttlecocks don’t fly like the conventional ones, they are way quicker.”
Independent shuttler Yeoh Seng Zoe, who was among the players who tried out the revolutionary shuttlecock during the 2018 Indonesian International Challenge, doesn’t quite fancy it.
Despite that, the former national Under-18 champion managed to reach the semi-finals in that meet.
Seng Zoe believes the introduction of the new-tech shuttlecock would kill the excitement of the game.
“I have tried it before, but I feel like it’s still not suitable for international level tournaments because it makes the rallies very short,” he explained.
“It will favour attacking-players. If you are a big smasher, one smash will be enough to win the point. It can be really tough to control.
“The matches are going to end fast, making them less exciting to watch. I’m not sure about the rest, but that’s what I think.”
Asked how close synthetic shuttlecocks were to genuine feather ones, he replied: “ It feels like plastic.”
Tuesday, 21 Jan 2020
By TAN MING WAI
Fly away: The traditional feather shuttlecocks currently being used in competitions around the world will be replaced with synthetic ones from next year.
PETALING JAYA: It’s finally happening – the traditional feather shuttlecocks will be replaced with synthetic ones in all Badminton World Federation (BWF) sanctioned tournaments from next year.
The BWF research and development unit had been carrying out extensive testing of various prototypes over the last few years and Yonex and the world body announced yesterday that the ground-breaking move has been given the go-ahead.
The main aim of these changes is to ensure long-term sustainability and cost-effectiveness. Traditional shuttlecocks are made from feathers plucked from live geese.
During matches, the traditional shuttlecock can be easily damaged and needs to be replaced several times throughout a game.
–– ADVERTISEMENT ––
BWF, in a statement yesterday, said the experiments showed that the synthetic feather shuttle could reduce shuttlecock usage by up to 25%, providing a significant environmental and economic edge for badminton.
BWF secretary general Thomas Lund hailed the introduction of sythetic shuttlecocks as “a positive step for the sport”.
“The vision is to ensure is to become less dependent on natural feathers for shuttlecocks,” said Lund.
“We heard from some elite players involved in the testing of the Yonex synthetic feather shuttlecock say that they were able to adjust to the slight variances between the synthetic version and the traditional natural shuttlecock quite quickly, so is great news.”
While Lund claimed that, it remains to be seen, however, if the synthetic shuttlecocks will be well received by players on the World Tour, especially the big guns.
Synthetic shuttlecocks were previously tested only in three lower-tier tournaments in 2018 – Italian International, United States International Challenge and Indonesian International Challenge.
National badminton legend Lee Chong Wei has mixed feelings about the synthetic shuttlecocks. The retired 37-year-old, who took part in the testings back in 2017, said the difference is “massive”.
“I’m not sure if they are going to implement the use of the shuttlecocks that we tested previously. If it is, then there’s a huge difference,” said Chong Wei.
“Those shuttlecocks don’t fly like the conventional ones, they are way quicker.”
Independent shuttler Yeoh Seng Zoe, who was among the players who tried out the revolutionary shuttlecock during the 2018 Indonesian International Challenge, doesn’t quite fancy it.
Despite that, the former national Under-18 champion managed to reach the semi-finals in that meet.
Seng Zoe believes the introduction of the new-tech shuttlecock would kill the excitement of the game.
“I have tried it before, but I feel like it’s still not suitable for international level tournaments because it makes the rallies very short,” he explained.
“It will favour attacking-players. If you are a big smasher, one smash will be enough to win the point. It can be really tough to control.
“The matches are going to end fast, making them less exciting to watch. I’m not sure about the rest, but that’s what I think.”
Asked how close synthetic shuttlecocks were to genuine feather ones, he replied: “ It feels like plastic.”
