For all team events including Thomas Cup, Uber Cup, and Sudirman Cup, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) conducted a draw ceremony right after the conclusion of the group stage to determine the four match-ups for the quarter-finals. The draw only guarantees teams that finished top of the group will play a team that finished second in the group. In other words, there is a chance that teams that played each other in the group stage will face each other in the knockout stage.
To understand why BWF made such a decision, we need to go back in time. Back in the 2008 Thomas Cup, BWF had a different draw system. Teams were assigned their path in the knockout stage before the tournament started, similar to the knockout stages of the World Cup. The draw at that time was designed to give teams a chance at the knockout stages regardless of their performance in the group stage. Whether you win or lose all your matches in the group stage, you will still have a shot at the title.
The Korean team exploits the loophole in the draw by losing all their group stage by fielding weaker players and having men doubles players playing singles. Their aim was to avoid China, the then 3-time defending champion and the strongest team in the competition, until the final. The strategy paid off. Korea made it all the way to the final before eventually losing to China 3-1 in the finals.
After the debacle, BWF introduced a new system for the knockout stage. Instead of having the draw listed out prior to the tournament, BWF will conduct a draw after the end of the group stage to avoid teams picking their opponents. Since 2010, the year the new draw system was introduced, 9 match-ups (out of 44 match-ups) were repeated (Excluding this year’s Sudirman Cup). It means that the chances of the same team playing each other in the quarter-finals after meeting each other in the group stage are 20%. Here are the nine repeated match-ups:
1. 2010 Thomas Cup: China vs Korea
2. 2010 Thomas Cup: Indonesia vs India
3. 2012 Thomas Cup: Korea vs Germany
4. 2013 Sudirman Cup: China vs Indonesia
5. 2014 Uber Cup: China vs England
6. 2014 Uber Cup: Japan vs Denmark
7. 2015 Sudirman Cup: China vs Germany
8. 2015 Sudirman Cup: Malaysia vs Korea
9. 2016 Thomas Cup: Indonesia vs Hong Kong
Interestingly, of the 9 repeated match-ups, only one had a different outcome - the 2015 Sudirman Cup Quarter-finals tie between Malaysia and Korea. Malaysia won the tie in the group stage but the Koreans managed to win it when it matters the most. The crucial decider of the tie was the men's doubles match.
In this year’s Sudirman Cup tournament, although Japan was able to hang on and defeat Malaysia for the second time, it wasn’t so lucky for the Chinese Taipei team. The crucial match that decides the outcome of the tie was the men’s doubles. Learning from their previous mistake, the Koreans were able to make the adjustment and sent out a different pair for the knockout stage. That decision proved to be the decisive one as the Koreans managed to beat Chinese Taipei the next day and progressed to the semi-finals.
Although the logic of “If you are good, you should be able to beat anybody on any given day” sounds true, team competition is decided not just by skills, it often comes down to the crucial decision on which player or pair might be the best pick for this particular match. And in the case of this year’s Korea - Chinese Taipei tie, the Koreans were given a chance to rectify their previous mistake. This sort of opportunity should not be available unless both teams meet again in the final.
Teams should be rewarded for topping their group and not replaying the opponent they just beat in the group. More importantly, all victories matter!
The easiest fix is to insert a clause that prevents teams that played each other again at least in the quarter-finals. Similar to the draw of Europe’s biggest club football competition - UEFA Champions League, the competition has a clause that avoids clubs from the same country from playing each other in the last sixteen.
The idea of replaying the same opponent you just defeated the next day sounds utterly ridiculous. As the governing body of badminton, BWF has the ultimate responsibility to create the best competition format to determine the winner. Time and time again, BWF continuously making blunders. From the 2008 Thomas Cup mess to the 2012 Olympic Games embarrassment, it seems like BWF has implemented new format of competition without any sort of trial runs.
The governing body of badminton is currently trying out the 11-point best-of-five game scoring format at lower-level individual competitions. Why can’t BWF do the same for the team competition? Try out the new format at amateur or junior competition, gather the feedback of players and coaches before deciding whether the proposed format is suitable for world-class competition.
Badminton doesn’t enjoy the popularity of sports like football or basketball. While the popularity of badminton has risen over the years, BWF as the governing body of the sport has the sole obligation in making sure the completion format it currently has, is the best and most effective way to determine the winner.
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