Having flourished under the 3x21 scoring system throughout his career, Lee Chong Wei was delighted the same format would remain as he said the Badminton World Federation (BWF) made the right call for the players’ interest.

“Why change something when it is already good? Just look at the number of people who watched the Rio 2016 Olympics final, and before that London Olympics in 2012. I believe I speak on behalf of the majority of players out there, what we have now is good enough.

“If only they had agreed to the shorter format, I would have come out of retirement to play the game again!” Lee told The Star.

The proposed 5x11 scoring format did not get the two-thirds required at the BWF 82nd Annual General Meeting last Saturday, falling short at 66.31%.

This is the second time the 5x11 failed to get the nod, also not receiving the two-thirds majority required back in 2018.

Lee’s comments on the 2016 Olympics came with stats to back up his claims.

The women’s singles final between P.V.Sindhu and Carolina Marin drew 66.5 million viewers alone in India, while Lee’s final against Chen Long was the most watched match in China's state broadcaster with 7.08% of viewership.

While the figures attributed to the countries watching their own players in action, Lee was driving home the point that the 3x21 scoring format made it a much more gripping and watchable affair.

The three-time Olympic silver medalist said ultimately it is up to the shuttlers to have character and quality to put on a show for the fans.

“It’s not about the scoring format, it’s about having players with character in the circuit. Where are four legends like in my days in men’s singles?” he added.

At the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, the likes of Kento Momota, Lee Zii Jia, Viktor Axelsen, Chou Tien-chen, Anthony Ginting and Chen Long are set to battle their way to glory in the premiere category.

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