Hawk-Eye technology being considered for Badminton
Badminton is the world’s fastest racquet sport and at the moment does not utilise any sort of technology to assist with umpire decisions. The fast pace of the games and the intense speed with which the shuttlecock lands on the ground, can sometimes make it tricky for umpires to judge whether a point was scored or not. A lot of players, including the world number one Lee Chong Wei, have called for a technology to be introduced into the game similar to what is used in tennis. It does not look like any sort of technology will be introduced into the sport anytime soon but the organising committee of the sport will look into the matter again after the 2012 Olympics.
Many problems have started to occur with umpiring in the sport of badminton. In January of this year, there were a few incidents that took place at the final of the Korean Open when there were some major disputes about some line calls that were made. Badminton is a gentle and civilised game despite the insanely fast pace. We usually do not see a lot of heated arguments and fights break out in the sport. But sometimes the pressure of incorrect line calls can get so much that players start to get heavily worked up. There have been numerous instances about fights almost breaking out between two players, between players and coaches, and coaches and it needs to stop. This is a dividing issue in the world of badminton with some people saying that players need to learn to control their tempers and accept bad calls, while others say that why should players have to accept bad calls and it is up to the governing body of badminton, the Badminton World Federation or BWF, to introduce Hawk Eye technology or some other sort of thing to help out umpires. The problem with umpires is that they cannot always be impartial and that can lead to problems. The sport of badminton needs someone to sit down and have a rethink to come up with a cent percent neutral decision.
The world number one Lee Chong Wei has called for Hawk Eye technology or some other sort of innovation to help out the umpires when making calls. In July, Wei was facing compatriot Wong Choong Hann at the Malaysian Open, when he felt a few calls were very controversial. He said he would not mind if they were close calls but he felt they were very far-out and the linesman had gotten it very wrong. He has appealed to the BWF to implement Hawk Eye technology just like in tennis to make it fairer for everyone involved. Wei’s comments followed on from comments made by England’s Nathan Robertson, who is part of one of the world’s best doubles teams with his partner Jenny Wallwork. Robertson had called for video replays to be introduced into the sport after he and his partner were denied a place in the finals of the 100th All England Championships. It seems more and more players are becoming vocal about the use of video replays and Hawk Eye technology, and are urging the BWF to start a discussion on the topic.
The BWF on the other hand says that at the moment everything will remain the same. The body’s president, Paisan Rangsikitpho said that the organisation was exploring all options in regards to line call technology. But he also said that things would remain the same until the Olympic Games in 2012; it would only be after that event that they would look into discussing the use of technology in the sport. The reasons given for not adopting technology now and exploring all options is that because of the nature of the game utilising Hawk Eye technology or video replays would become very expensive and so a cost-effective solution would have to be found. This is a different reason to not using goal line technology in football with FIFA saying that it would ruin the game, but even they are looking into using the system in future matches and tournaments. The BWF should follow FIFA’s path and start discussing it now.
Whatever happens, badminton as a game will not change; it will simply evolve along with the times to come. Technology is all around us and it is high time that the world’s biggest sports stand up and follow the rest of the crowd.
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