FORMER national shuttler Datuk James Selvaraj feels that current players should play once every two weeks amid densely packed schedules in a Badminton World Federation (BWF) calendar year.
Expressing concern about the relentless pressure that comes with playing in a series of tournaments, James said such a balanced approach would keep players fresh and, more significantly, minimise injuries.
“You cannot play tournament after tournament all the time. When are all these players going to rest? I think they (BWF) should cut down the number of tournaments,” he said recently.
As such, James, a member of the 1976 Thomas Cup silver medal-winning team, advised players to be strategic in choosing tournaments that would align with their progress.
The 73-year-old believed that if all the players, including top-ranked shuttlers, exercised discernment in tournament selection, it could prompt BWF to re-evaluate the value of an overly saturated calendar.
Describing the current calendar year as crazy, former badminton great Datuk Lee Chong Wei suggested in May that the BWF should reduce the number of tournaments to produce quality players.
BWF president Poul-Erik Hoyer quickly rebuffed the idea, however, saying what they needed to do was to create a “ladder”-like tournament system by rearranging all competitions according to priority. – Bernama, December 11, 2023.
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