Ajay unhappy with scoring system changes

For the World No. 18, Ajay Jayaram, the constant experimentation with the scoring format in badminton doesn’t augur well for the game.

Jayaram played for the Mumbai Rockets at the Premier Badminton League (PBL).

He may have participated in the recently-concluded Premier Badminton League before doing his back in. As Ajay Jayaram prepares for the stiff challenge of the European leg of the world badminton circuit, the Mumbai shuttler will also have to get used to switching from the race-to-11-points, a format that was experimented during PBL.

For the World No. 18, however, the constant experimentation with the scoring format in badminton doesn’t augur well for the game. “They have tried it in the past, the 11-point thing. They are considering changing the format to 11 (again). I don’t know if it’s the best thing though,” Ajay said after releasing newsletter of the Padukone Badminton Academy at North Indian Gymkhana on Saturday.

“I am sure as a player we will adapt to whatever happens, but for me somehow, this constant changing of points is not something I personally feel is the best thing for badminton. Ideally 21-point formats, it’s quite exciting in itself, may be for league something 11 points works, but for regular tournaments, you would still want to stick to 21 points.”

For the last couple of years, the Badminton World Federation has allowed organisers of various tournaments to introduce the 11-point format in a quest to reduce duration of matches and make it more television-friendly.

Whether it would stick to the 21-point format or revert to 11-point would be decided in the BWF’s annual general meeting later in the year.

European challenge

Owing to a back strain that forced him to skip the prestigious Syed Modi International Badminton Championship in Lucknow last week and the ongoing Senior Nationals in Patna, Ajay has been forced to spend some time at home.

But the 29-year-old is confident he will be at his best before the European leg of the world badminton circuit starts next month.

“The next one for me would be the European circle, the All England (Open Badminton Championship) and the Swiss Open. After the Malasiya GP Gold, I had a slight problem with my back, but now I am fully fit. So hopefully, I get full four weeks to prepare for the All England and that’s definitely one of the most exciting tournaments in the circuit that I am looking forward to,” said Ajay.

“Literally, you have the top-20 playing there (in All England). Every round will be equally tough. I will have to put my 100 % to get past everyone.”