Gopichand says 15x3 scoring will "wipe off" some players and aid others
Pullela Gopichand said in New Delhi on August 5, 2026, that badminton's switch to a 15x3 scoring system will "wipe off" some players while benefiting others as the sport prepares to adopt the change ahead of the World Championships. The Badminton World Federation has approved the shorter format to replace the current 21x3 system next year.
Gopichand recalled his own experience with an earlier scoring overhaul after winning the All England under the traditional 15-point system, noting the disruption caused when the sport briefly moved to a 7x5 format. "When I won the All England, a few months later they moved from 15 to 7. It took me time because I was one of those players who was a stroke player. I wanted time to get adjusted. It took me a year to come back," he said. That experiment was abandoned within a year and the sport reverted to the previous scoring at that time, a change Gopichand said affected endurance and preparation.
On the likely on-court consequences of 15x3, Gopichand said the shorter games will increase the premium on speed, power and mental strength late in matches. "You scoring points will be important, but you not giving away points will be even more important. The speed and the power and the focus need to be top notch. The mind will play much more," he said, and he predicted doubles would feel the biggest impact because every phase of a shorter contest becomes more critical.
Discussing specific match phases, Gopichand warned that serving and attack sequences will intensify in doubles. "The serve, serve-return and the attack will be even more fierce in the doubles game...people who can hold their nerves and play the strokes will be important," he said, and pointed to a trend in singles toward flatter, faster play by younger players such as Alwi Farhan and Christo Popov.
Gopichand identified particular score junctures that will carry heightened pressure in the new format. "The crucial points in the game will be the 11th and 12th points. How you take pressure at 13-14 or 15-14 will become very important. There will be a lot of pressure points throughout the match," he said, and warned the change could reduce the longer, stroke-heavy rallies that a longer format allows.
He questioned the BWF’s choice of solution for player workload, suggesting schedule changes could have been an alternative. "If they were planning to extend the tournament schedule to two weeks, they could have stayed on with the 21-point system because it doesn't make sense to shorten it and lengthen the tournament both at the same time," he said, adding, "The purpose was to give rest to the players, and that could have been achieved by having the tournament over a 10-12-day period instead of six days. But probably BWF has its own reasons. It's very subjective."
On how the change might affect Indian players, Gopichand named H.S. Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth as players who "might benefit" while warning that increased speed could raise injury risk. "It will be better for them. We're not very sure how exactly because when speed goes up these guys have to move quicker. So training to move quicker needs you to be a lot more agile, a lot more faster and that could lead to injuries as well. The nuance is everything. The smaller detail is everything. If I had a choice I would pick the 15 for an older player... For some players it might be a little tough, but by and large Indian players are okay."
Gopichand acknowledged India lacks a clear succession plan in men's doubles beyond Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and stressed structural challenges in producing pairs. "It's a very valid question. I think we need to get the best players coming together, playing together, some system like that needs to be there. We are very democratic in that set-up," he said, adding that the proliferation of academies has complicated development: "We used to have five academies, or four academies, five years back. Today there are 500 academies — 5,000 independent players and 5,000 independent minds. When it comes to doubles, that compounds the problem." He also noted the rarity of singles players switching to doubles: "Very rarely do we have a decent singles player pick doubles if he is good at it. Not very often do you see that switch...it could be good talent for singles but exceptional talent for doubles."
The Badminton World Federation-approved 15x3 scoring system will replace the current 21x3 format next year, a change Gopichand addressed while speaking ahead of the World Championships.