PETALING JAYA: Introduce Video Assistance Referee (VAR) and change the medical rules during tournaments.
These are the reforms that men’s doubles shuttler Aaron Chia hopes to see from the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
The suggestions from Aaron come in the wake of the world governing body’s proposed move to significantly increase prize money and extend the duration of tournaments.
A seven-day tournament for the World Tour 1000 events is expected to be run over 11 days while winners expected to enjoy US$2mil prize money total.
While the 28-year-old Aaron is welcoming the changes, he also wants to see more reforms in the sport.
“It’s a good move to increase the prize money and it’s better for players to have more rest and recovery between matches (if the tournaments are extended),” said Aaron after a training session with partner Soh Wooi Yik at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
“BWF could also consider including VAR like in football to check if the shuttle touched a player before going out and so on.
Currently they are using the Hawkeye technology, which shows replays of the shot in question.
“It’s also good to assist the service judge when it comes to deciding on service faults,” said Aaron.
Aaron went on to stress the importance of BWF changing the controversial medical ruling which does not allow players to get medical attention during games.
Under the current ruling which was introduced last November, players can only get attention during the intervals.
“Most important is the medical side. BWF need to be aware that while some players might be calling for medical attention to delay the game, most players really need it when they request for help,” said Aaron.
“They don’t want to waste time by doing this.
“Sometimes, we really need cold spray or plaster. We have seen our opponents twist their ankle before but the referee came in and thought they were delaying the time.”
Meanwhile, Aaron is out to bring his fine form with Wooi Yik into the back-to-back Japan Open (July 15-20) and China Open (July 22-27).
The pair enjoyed a stunning run since April, capturing the Asian Championships, Thailand Open and Singapore Open titles and finishing runners-up to teammates Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the Malaysian Masters.
Thanks to their fiery performances, Aaron-Wooi Yik equalled their career best world ranking of No. 2 last week.
“We hope to maintain our game play and performance in our next tournaments,” said Aaron.
“Winning titles are important for us, more so than rankings. If we are consistent, our rankings will automatically move up.”
