Line-call review to be tested at Sudirman Cup

REUTERS: Heated line-call disputes in badminton will soon become a thing of the past after the sport opted to embrace instant review system by trialling the technology at next month’s Sudirman Cup in Malaysia.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) Council has voted to okay the technology which would go live at the Indonesian Open in June, the BWF said on its website (www.bwfbadminton.org).

“We are obviously still in an experimental phase so we will likely not implement instant-review technology in all tournaments right now,” BWF deputy president Paisan Rangsikitpho said.

“We are certain players will welcome this news as BWF continues its quest to be innovative and advance badminton,” said Rangsikitpho, who also heads the BWF Events Committee.

Badminton joins other sports such as tennis and cricket to adopt a system which allows players to challenge close calls.

Athletes’ Commission head Emma Mason hailed the news as “an important development for our players and for badminton as a whole”.

“The inclusion of such modern technology brings badminton into line with many leading sports which are already using or implementing this type of system,” said the retired Scottish international.

While such technology is widely used in top level tennis, soccer has lately agreed to adopt it. Ball-tracking technology is popular in cricket as well but not mandatory in all formats yet.