KUALA LUMPUR: Delaying service is a psychological ploy often used by shuttlers, especially in doubles, to gain an unfair advantage. Now the Badminton World Federation (BWF) is cracking down on this.
The new ruling — undue service delay — will let the umpire penalise a player or a pair, either serving or receiving, for wasting time.
"Clause 9.1.1 states that neither side shall cause undue delay to the delivery of the service once the server and receiver are ready for the service," stated BWF in its website
"This means that once players are in a position to serve and receive, any excessive delay is undue delay, whether it is a player holding their hand up indicating they are not ready, standing in a position ready to serve and doing nothing, or the side-to-side motion."
Based on the ruling, umpires can penalise the players.
Former international Datuk James Selvaraj is all for the new rule because service delay has disrupted some good contests with shuttlers trying to win in an unsporting manner.
"This is definitely a good rule change because service delay is often used by players to break the rhythm and focus of opponents," said James.
"If a pair lose a point for deliberate service delay, they would not want to do it again and this will make the match a fairer contest."
Meanwhile James hopes that BWF will allow players to get medical treatment during games and not only during intervals.
He had previously criticised the ruling, saying it puts players under the risk of serious injuries. Lee Zii Jia was affected by this ruling at the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou last week. He had to play on despite suffering a ligament tear against China's Li Shi Feng and later conceded a walkover.