Badminton body bans new ‘spin serve’ for May games Badminton body bans new ‘spin serve’ for May games | The Straits Times The “spin serve” involves a player spinning the shuttlecock before serving it. PHOTO: REUTERS UPDATED 48 MINS AGO KUALA LUMPUR – A new style of launching a shuttlecock in badminton has been temporarily banned by the sport’s governing body, saying that it could “negatively impact” games. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) said on Friday that the “spin serve”, which involves a player spinning the shuttlecock before serving it, was banned effective immediately until May 29. “Any failure to adhere to the experimental variation to the law will result in a fault being called,” the federation added in its statement. The amendment to the laws of the sport now states that the server should release the shuttle “without adding spin”. The temporary ban will take effect at all BWF games in May, including the Sudirman Cup Finals in Suzhou, China, and the Perodua Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur. BWF president Poul-Erik Hoyer said that the new serve, first seen at the Polish Open in March, was “disallowed” after feedback from the sport’s community. While welcoming players’ experimentation, he said that it could potentially “disrupt competitions”. “BWF welcomes players creating innovation in our game and experimenting with techniques to create competitive advantage on court,” he said in a statement. “However, we have received several points of feedback from within the badminton community, including the BWF Athletes’ Commission, expressing that this ‘spin serve’ could have a negative impact on the game. “An expert panel, therefore, recommended to disallow the ‘spin serve’ until further consultation could take place. “BWF also wanted to avoid a scenario where the upcoming BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2023 and other international tournaments could be platforms to test the new ‘spin serve’ and ultimately disrupt the competitions.” He added that the ban would be imposed until the federation’s council meets again on May 29. Hoyer also said the spin serve was similar to the “Sidek serve” which was banned after the technique – which involved slicing the shuttle across its feathers – created an uproar in the early 1980s. Badminton Association of Malaysia secretary-general Kenny Goh felt that the new serve could “kill” the game. Receiving players would find it difficult to handle an incoming bird as the method creates “an irregular flight, so sometimes the feather would go in front instead”, he told AFP. While agreeing with the ban for now, he said the association wanted to study the new style further. AFP, REUTERS
