(Reuters) – The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has extended the ban on the new “spin serve” until after next year’s Paris Olympics and Paralympics, it said on Monday.
The BWF this month temporarily banned the serve, which involves a player spinning the shuttle before launching it, after it proved to be tough to return or completely unplayable.
“After consultation with the badminton community, BWF Council believed it best to forbid the ‘spin serve’ for another 15 months so as to not impact the Olympic and Paralympic qualifying periods and the Games themselves,” the BWF said.
The BWF secretary general Thomas Lund said the governing body “welcomed innovation in badminton” but added that “more evidence was needed on the potential effects” of the serve before introducing it.
The ban will be in place for the Thailand Open, which begins on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
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