BWF World Championships: Top half lopsided, players complain

BWF World Championships: Kento Momota, Anthony Ginting, Jonatan Christie withdrawal means lop-sided top half, top players complain & seek redraw, check details – The withdrawal of the Indonesia team including the likes of World No 5 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and World No 7 Jonatan Christie as well as defending champion Kento Momota has meant that the men’s singles field bears a lopsided look. Three of the four highest seeds in the top half have pulled out while none have done so from the bottom half. Follow BWF World Championships Live updates on InsideSport.IN

Also read: BWF World Championships: Indonesia team withdraws citing Omicron worry, check details

After the news broke of the spat of withdrawals, BWF issued a statement regarding the issue and decided not to conduct any redraws.

BWF World Championships: Kento Momota, Anthony Ginting, Jonatan Christie withdrawal means lop-sided top half, top players complain & seek redraw, check details

“A majority of players have now arrived safely in Huelva and entered the tournament bubble. Round one matches start 9am local time on Sunday. There are currently no plans to conduct any redraws.”

Can anyone help me understand why BWF would not want to make a men’s singles redraw at the World Championships now? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/eejVg8bQeU

— HK Vittinghus (@hkvittinghus) December 8, 2021

This has not gone down well with quite a few players and they vented out their frustrations on social media. Chief among them was Hans-Kristian Vittinghus who questioned the logic behind BWF’s decision.

BWF World Championships: Kento Momota, Anthony Ginting, Jonatan Christie withdrawal means lop-sided top half, top players complain & seek redraw, check details

“Not surprised because basically I haven’t had a redraw in my 15 years on tour unless something goes wrong. But with 3 of the 4 highest seeds at the top withdrawing in the men’s singles while no one has withdrawn from the bottom half, I just don’t understand why not a re-draw?” wrote Vittinghus via his personal Twitter account.

“It will provide much fairer competition and will also provide better viewing for all viewers. Can anyone tell me why a redraw is a bad idea?” he continued.

#BWF can confirm the latest withdrawals from the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2021 including a large contingent of Indonesian 🇮🇩 players and defending champion Kento Momota 🇯🇵.#BWFWorldChampionship2021 #Huelva2021 https://t.co/i47wt0XeiB

— BWF (@bwfmedia) December 8, 2021

Vittinghus also added that re-draw would help to create a tight competition while adding that there was still enough time to complete the process.

BWF World Championships: Kento Momota, Anthony Ginting, Jonatan Christie withdrawal means lop-sided top half, top players complain & seek redraw, check details

“I would give them that it is still quite balanced if the balance is only about the number of players and not at all about strength. I guess we can use clearer rules going forward?” he continued.

Not just Vittinghus but players like English shuttler Lauren Smith also echoed similar sentiments.

Technically. the men’s singles draw could qualify for a redraw under BWF Rule 15.3.3. “In exceptional circumstances if a particular main draw has been rendered severely imbalanced.” This was pointed out by Vittinghus as well.

BWF World Championships: Kento Momota, Anthony Ginting, Jonatan Christie withdrawal means lop-sided top half, top players complain & seek redraw, check details

Badminton