Skirt rule for badminton players: Net gains

Wearing skirts over shorts could be marketed as a cool new layering style for spring-summer 2011, had it been mooted by a fashionista or a designer. Sadly, when the progenitor of this look is the Badminton World Federation (BWF), and the proposed adherents are all women badminton players who want to compete in tournaments organised by them, the effect is not quite the same.

More so when the stated aim is not a belated twinge of modesty over the sportswomen’s preference for shorts, but rather a supposed desire to “ensure attractive presentation of badminton”. Why women wearing shorts offends the world body’s sensibilities is unclear but the fact that most female shuttlers have not protested too much about the sudden diktat seems to suggest they could interpret this decree in some ingenious ways. Nor do they have to look too far for inspiration.

Venus Williams, from the adjoining world of tennis, has made quite a name for herself for her flamboyant wardrobe, which barely keeps from skirting the tennis dress code altogether. Her recent forays include wearing a pair of shorts which were so fleshtoned that it seemed she was wearing nothing at all under an itsy-bitsy skirt. There is no doubt that Williams’ clothes attract a considerable degree of attention but whether the entire sport benefits from their inspired interpretations of the dress code of their sport is debatable.

Looking good and playing well are not always mutually reconcilable goals, so this edict also potentially opens up a whole new field of play for fashion designers, both in India and abroad. If wearing their creations makes some shuttlers the equivalent of a Williams or a Sharapova, then both the fashion industry and the sport should be happy!