Mumbai: It was in the third game, and Tai Tzu Ying led 7-3. But PV Sindhu clawed her way back into the quarter-final match, eventually winning 12-21, 23-21, 21-19. A few days later in the tournament in Basel in 2019, she became the first Indian to win a World Badminton Championship gold.
Recently, Lakshya Sen scripted an impressive comeback. Down 13-7 in the second game, having lost the first, he fought back to edge out Chou Tien Chen 18-21, 22-20, 21-17 and set India on the path to securing a medal in the Thomas Cup in Denmark with a quarter-final win over Chinese Taipei.
Among many others, these matches will go down as famous triumphs in Indian badminton folklore. Come January 2027 though and such come-from-behind wins will become rare, with the world badminton tour to switch from its current scoring system (first-to-21 points) to a first-to-15, best-of-three format.
“In a longer format of any sport, one person may take an initial lead but the other person can catch up. But now if someone takes a substantial lead, there is no coming back,” says Uday Pawar, two-time Asian Games bronze medallist and multiple former national doubles champion whose trainees include Chirag Shetty, one half of the top men’s doubles pair. “Normally players will try to get a feel of the conditions in the opening rallies and wait to figure their tactics. That will go away.”
A shorter points system means, at least on paper, less time spent on court. Tactics will then demand that players adopt a more aggressive plan. That will, however, require many changes off court to be ready for the explosive play on it.
“(The shift means) there will be 18 fewer points, which is approximately an entire game,” explains Sagar Chopda, head of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy who has helped in the growth of Sen and 2026 Asian Championship silver medallist Ayush Shetty.
“Training patterns will change. At the moment, the focus is more on endurance than explosiveness, but once the new scoring style comes in, endurance may no longer be the first priority.”
Players won’t have the luxury of playing some early points to adjust to the varied drift on either side of the court. Chopda says players will start to warm-up for matches differently.
“There will be a lot of explosive work done before you enter the court—maybe some short sprints or even just a fast 15-point game in the warm-up area,” he says. “The idea will be to get the heart-rate going when you walk on to court. Right now, the heart rate goes to around 150-160 bpm. With the 15-point game, it will probably go up to 180-190.”
Training sessions away from tournaments will also change with drills modified.
“For example, in a multi-feed session, right now we sometimes have a longer duration where the players are playing 30-40 shuttles a minute. In the off-season, they will probably do some drills with 15 shuttles in a 30 or 45-second rally,” Chopda adds.
“The idea is to pack in more intensity in a shorter period of time.”
Both coaches say the scoring changes were made to draw more TV viewers. Pawar though cautioned that it could particularly affect the already fast-paced doubles.
“The game will become faster, but doubles will become more one-dimensional where players are just out to attack,” Pawar says. “The element of courtcraft will lose importance—you are no longer playing tactical rallies to trap an opponent.
“In singles, you can still do that to a degree, by trying to extend rallies since it is just one player on court. But in doubles, everything will be about smashing more.”
That would mean more strain on the players—Shetty’s doubles partner Satwiksairaj Rankireddy is already struggling with shoulder issues. That doesn’t concern Pawar much. He is confident the physios and trainers will help prepare for the physical demands.
The players who might ease into the new system are the upcoming generation of Indians. Chopda says that in the junior domestic circuit, many tournaments use the 15×3 scoring system, especially in qualification rounds.
The new system will also benefit players with an attacking mindset. It is the seniors with the muscle memory to play the 21-point game who will struggle a bit to adjust.
There will be some element of trial and error before the off-court training and on-court tactics are aligned.
Pawar is certain of one thing when the new rules come into play.
“There will be a lot of upsets,” he says.
