I doubt IOC will have any say in what goes on with BWF and their governing style.
Badminton as a televised sport has it’s issues (refereeing, prize money, advertising and publicity, social media) but I don’t believe the rule or how the game is played need changing to cater to a certain group or, god forbid, certain players.
If you cut the number the tournaments that the top players should participate in, you lose advertisers and you risk turning away fans that only really get once chance in a whole year to see their favorite player. Badminton as a sport is not exactly the most popular thing on earth. By limiting the opportunities those fans get to engage in the sport, the less popular the sport then ultimately becomes. The schedule of BWF is demanding, but that has always been the case. Every player. I repeat, EVERY player on the tour plays under the same circumstance. You win some and you lose some. And those who win all the time gets all the glory. Momota back in 2019, and Axelsen in 2021-2022 are some recent examples. The fact that they can play all these tournaments back to back and win them is something special that make these players immortal in our eyes.
Another thing about the hectic schedule is that it is the great equalizer. Let me explain. If BWF has only 5 tour events in a given year and that players get to rest and train in between the tournaments to fully prepare for it. I think the winners of those tournaments will be quite one-sided. Someone as dominant as Axelsen now has all the time in the world to get ready for the tournament and blow everyone out of the water. But with the schedule as is, you play in back to back tournaments. You win one tour, but you may be sore or fatigued for the next upcoming tournament, so you end up losing that tournament. But in losing that tournament you now get the time to recuperate, while that tournament’s champion gets less of it. This is the great equalizer. It gives chances for other players to compete and it gives us the audience with the chance to see someone else win.
The players can use that time to recover and/or train. And who is to say that you won’t get injured during training? Which leads me to my next point.
I repeat: injuries are part of sports. When you play on the limit like these professionals do, the chance of injuries are greater. But that is what the training is for. You look at Lee Chong Wei back when he was playing compared to how he looks like now. When he was playing he looked ripped with crazy muscle definition. Even when comparing his physiology in late 2000s to mid 2010s, he looked jacked! I’ve seen videos of him doing squats with real heavy weights. Another player who takes strength training seriously is Axelsen. You look at his physique now compared to when he won bronze in Rio. He looks more muscular now. Using both these players as examples, they clearly had the skills but when faced with roadblocks now and again (in the form of Lin Dan for the former and Momota for the latter) they decided that this was what it took to get the advantage over their opponents. Getting stronger is also important as you age. Your body will not be able to do heal faster compared to when you are young. Marin is on the back end of her career. Injuries at her age become more likely, and when it happens it could be harder to come back from.
Looking at examples from another sport. You look at Michael Jordan and how much he has bulked up over the years. He decided to get stronger because his opponents (late 80s Pistons, 90s Knicks) found that the way to defeat him was to physically beat him. I am not saying that everyone should just do weights and suddenly become miles better. But becoming stronger physically means that you are less prone to major injuries. Back to badminton, I look at Gregoria Mariska Tunjung and how much she has leaned up. I will even say that her legs looks stronger. And the result? look at how much more confident she is playing. She is winning against tough opponents, playing deeper into tournaments, and just recently bagged a bronze medal in Paris, I think one player who can benefit from doing a bit more strength training is Kunlavut Vittidsarn. He clearly has skills but i think it will be hard for him to take it to the next level of constantly winning championships when he doesn’t focus on his fitness. But I am just an armchair commentator, what do I know…
I don’t need to look very far either. Who here among you is not carrying some form of small injury or some nagging discomfort or even general soreness? We are not even getting paid to play this sport and we were injured. That is just how it is.
At the risk of sounding callous and insensitive, might I remind you that the world is unfair. You might think you are hot stuff back in the junior ranks but then become just a journeyman once you are on the senior circuit. Is it fair that Momota got into the accident and thus robbing us of the potential Momota-Axelsen rivalry? Is it fair that Malaysia never won a single badminton gold despite having the arguable GOAT in Lee Chong Wei? Is it fair for Marin to get injured while she is winning the match and was well on her way to a guaranteed medal? Life is unfair. Axelsen and An Se Young can complain all they want about the punishing schedule, but guess what? There is always someone out there willing to do it. Axelsen and ASY can skip tournaments all they want and get penalized, but don’t complain if they get poor seeding and have to face tougher opponents or, worse, do not qualify for certain prestigious tournaments like WTFinals and Olympics.
TLDR: let’s not fix what is not broken.