PETALING JAYA: The national junior squad have begun adapting to the new 3x55 relay scoring system that will be used for the mixed team event at the World Junior Championships in Cairo from Oct 5-17.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) will introduce the new format, with each tie contested over the best of three sets and each set played to 55 cumulative points.
National junior men's doubles coach Pang Cheh Chang said the players have already started familiarising themselves with the new system during training sessions.
However, he does not expect the change to pose major problems as the team had already experienced a similar format at last year's championships in India, where BWF used the 3x45 relay scoring system.
"It's quite interesting for me. This will be our first time playing under this format, so we will need some time to get used to it.
"Actually, it is a shortened version of the previous 110 point format. The pace is much quicker, so the players need to adapt faster.
"The adjustments in terms of gameplay have to be made earlier than usual. Even under the 110-point format, the concept remains the same, only that it has now been shortened.
"So, it is essentially just divided into a smaller format and I don't see it posing any major problems," said Cheh Chang.
BWF first introduced the relay scoring system at the 2024 edition in Nanchang, with each tie featuring 10 matches across the five disciplines and played to a cumulative score of 110 points.
At the same time, Cheh Chang does not believe the latest change will confuse the players. Instead, he said it is up to the coaches to explain the format clearly and help the players adjust.
"The important thing is to explain it to the players. They need to understand why we are making slight adjustments in training so they can adapt more quickly.
"I don't see it as a major issue because we have already experienced the 110-point format before. The concept is largely the same and it all comes down to how quickly the players can adjust to it," he added.
Last year, Malaysia's mixed team campaign ended in the knockout stage after a defeat to Taiwan, but the national juniors still bagged a silver and a bronze in the individual events.
Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan was the standout performer, clinching silver in the girls' doubles with Low Zi Yu before adding a bronze in the mixed doubles with Loh Zi Heng.
