COACH: An old car driver Ashwini Ponnappawho won the women’s doubles gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, says she does not like badminton’s new 15×3 scoring system, arguing that the diet takes away from the sport the drama and energy that have made it so appealing. The All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament, which began at Kochi’s Regional Sports Center on Tuesday, is the first tournament in the home region to bring awareness to the sport to mark the evolution of Indian shuttlers. The Badminton World Federation plans to release the 15×3 international rankings from January 2027.In this way, all matches will be played as best-of-three games under the rally-point scoring system where each game will be played to 15 points instead of 21. A timeout will now be taken when the top two players reach eight points.“The beauty of the 21-point system is in its ebbs and flows. It allows for quick changes, creates drama, and allows for rebound,” Ponnappa said. TOI at the Regional Sports Centre, after he and Satish Karunakaran won their opening mixed match 15-8, 15-10 against Farhan Muhammad and Meera Nair.“Some of the biggest matches in badminton have lasted at least 90 minutes, and the longest matches have lasted up to 160 minutes. These are the matches that people remember,” Ponnappa said.The BWF is planning to introduce this type of diet to reduce match time, reduce player fatigue, make it less physical, and make sports more compatible with modern media. Ponnappa, 36, felt that the sports governing body had missed the mark by failing to innovate, instead focusing on tried and tested models.“If you feel that the game is getting too intense, add another breath,” said Coorgi. Ponnappa said the governing body should maintain a 21-point standard for Tour 1000 events and a 15-point test for other lower-level events.“It’s hard to make meetings. Who wants to see a badminton match over in 20 minutes?” Ponnappa objected. Ponnappa agreed that players have no choice but to evolve and embrace the new.“That’s the way it is. The quicker the players adapt to a new way of scoring, the better it is for them,” he added.