2018 All England Championships | Lee Chong Wei critical of BWF's new service rule

03/11/2018

Lee Chong Wei has in no uncertain words criticised the new service rule implemented by the BWF which states that a shuttlecock shall be held less than 1.15 meters from a court's surface before serving. He insisted that the rule should be tested in smaller tournaments first rather than bigger ones.

In November of 2017, BWF had announced the new service rules that were set to be implemented from the All England Championship this year. The rule stated that a shuttlecock shall be held less than 1.15 meters (3.8 feet) from a court's surface before serving. With the All England Championship scheduled to start from March 14, Wei has expressed his criticism for this new service rule.

"If I make a mistake with my serve during the All England (tournament), I will ask the umpire (about) the proper way to execute it," said the former world number reported AFP.

The rule was also criticised by Viktor Axelsen who is 1.94 meters tall as he mocked the rule in a youtube video he posted in September last year in which he was seen squatting and kneeling while serving at a training session.

The world number 2, who is 1.72 meters tall also insisted on trying out the rule in smaller tournaments rather than the big ones.

"The Badminton World Federation (BWF) should have opted for small tournaments to test it," concluded the 35-year-old.