DUBAI: World Tour has been the buzz word in badminton of late. It’s just an alternate for Superseries and Superseries Premier. But the Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) decision to make it compulsory for top-15 players in singles and top-10 pairs in doubles to play at least 12 tournaments has not gone down well with many players.
A few days back, India’s national coach Pullela Gopichand slammed the world body for preparing a tight schedule. Ahead of the Superseries final in Dubai, Danish duo Viktor Axelsen and Mathias Boe are the latest to speak about the calendar.
“For the last many years, we haven’t had any break. The season is just ongoing. It’s up to the players to take some time off when they need to. Of course, with the new tournament schedule coming out in January, it is really tight. But we are professionals and we know when to take a break. And we are used to it,” Mathias said.
This year, without the rule, has seen many injuries. Stars like Nozomi Okuhara and Carolina Marin have already pulled out of the year-ender. Kidambi Srikanth was not able to participate in the China and Hong Kong Open due to injuries.
With the level of competition so high, players need adequate rest to maintain fitness. The new mandatory rule is not helping the cause. “I liked the old schedule. We can be better players if we play fewer tournaments and have more time to prepare. But the BWF doesn’t think so. There is nothing that you can do about it. Making us play 12 tournaments and all the team stuff is pretty stressful and personally, I would have liked it to be different,” World No 1 Axelsen said.
“We haven’t really addressed the issue to the world body. We have a players’ association and we discuss things. But nothing has changed and in the end, they (federation) take the decisions.”
Many players are currently in Dubai as part of a Sportzlive initiative to promote the Premier Badminton League (PBL) , which starts a few days after the Superseries final. While stressing the body because of a tight schedule is worrying players, many will wonder why they are taking part in another tournament in an already long calendar.
“Firstly, we don’t play a lot of matches in PBL. It’s a little easy on us. It doesn’t mean that it is not competitive. There is a lot of money and pressure involved. But it’s not that harsh on your body. We play one match a day and the rules are different while that’s not the case in Superseries events. Also, it’s a great opportunity for young players to interact with top shuttlers from around the world,” Srikanth said.
vimalsankar@newindianexpress.com