At the recently concluded All England, there was a fault called in the Men Singles Final. Umpire is heard to tell player he faulted "... too close" The video clip of that rally is here -- Since when is that a fault? The laws does not mention any such thing. Did the umpire err in communication? Was there a fault? If so, who was at fault?
The umpire should have said "My critical thinking has enabled me to gather information about the shuttle and your racquet position, verified that your racquet was too close to the striker on my left, and develop a holistic solution that I have just conveyed to you. Now stop faffing about and play on."
The umpire is calling fault 13.4.4 in the laws of badminton. "obstructs an opponent, ie prevents an opponent from making a legal stroke where the shuttle is followed over the net." The shuttle is close to the net. As long as Ginting hits the shuttle on his side, he is allowed to follow through with his swing over the net, and should not be obstructed in doing so by Christie. The umpire judged that Christies racket was too close, obstructing Ginting from following through over the net. The commentator didn't agree with the call, and neither do I... But for example, if their rackets had collided in this situation, then it's a clear fault for Christie, since a racket collision is indisputable evidence that he obstructed Ginting's stroke.
Good call. No matter now rich the player is he should not risk his expensive racket when winning the point with follow through like that
Obstructions and distractions 13.4 [It shall be a fault] if in play, a player: 13.4.4 obstructs an opponent, i.e. prevents an opponent from making a legal stroke where the shuttle is followed over the net; 13.4.5 deliberately distracts an opponent by any action such as shouting or making gestures; Remember that you are allowed to follow-through with your racket over the net, providing you made contact on your side. If your opponent obstructs this — such as putting his racket in the way so that you would be forced to hit it — then you win the rally. Note that your opponent is allowed to put his racket in the path of the shuttle. He is not allowed to block your stroke, but he is allowed to block your shot. It’s a subtle distinction: your stroke is the movement of your racket; your shot is the movement of the shuttle. Deliberate distractions are not allowed. There’s a fine line here: the rule does not prohibit shouting (e.g. when you smash) or expressing yourself through gestures (e.g. a clenched fist after winning a point); but it does prohibit using these to distract your opponent. Got this from https://www.badmintonbible.com/rules/faults. Not sure if its up to date or not. But based on this one, i could see how bias is the rule. 1. No specific measurement of how many cm from the net consider to close. 2. At what act of blocking attempt consider a fault. Does simply rise up a racket near the net consider a fault? I could see how this is totally personal understanding which different judge might call it differently.
