The BWF World Championships is the top-most tournament in badminton. Many top-ranked shuttlers set their eyes on the annual event to become the world champions.
Apart from that, there’s one more reason behind player participation in the World Championships. What’s that?
The BWF World Championships offers the highest ranking points in all major badminton tournaments. There is no prize money as such in the Grade 1 tournament, but these ranking points obviously help shuttlers rise up the Badminton World Rankings.
So how many ranking points do players receive in the BWF World Championships?
Let’s find out the answer in this article.
Ranking Points System in BWF World Championships (Latest)
Since April 23, 2024, the Badminton World Federation (BWF), which governs the sport at the global level, has put in place a new ranking points system. As per the latest system, the points a player gets in the championships has seen an increase.
Interestingly, the points system also applies to the badminton event played at the Summer Olympics, which happens every four years. In the Olympic year, though, the championships doesn’t take place, meaning both are equivalent events.
So, with the introduction of the new system, the BWF World Championships or Olympics winners will earn 14,500 points and a gold medal. The ranking points remain the same across all five categories.
Those who end up as runners-up bag the silver along with 12,500 points. The two players/pairs who bow out of the semi-finals get 10,500 points and bronze medals each in the championships.
But in the Olympics, the third-placed shuttler/pair with the bronze medal receives 11,500 points, while the fourth-placed player/pair takes home 10,500 points.
The players/pairs who exit from the quarter-finals stand a chance to obtain 8,200 ranking points. Those who couldn’t proceed through the third round (9th-16th position) receive 6,000 points.
The players/pairs who finish between 17-32 (second-round exit) and 33-64 (first-round exit) earn 3,700 and 1,450 points each, respectively.
Now you must be wondering how the previous points system worked.
Old Points System (From 2018 to April 2024)
So in the previous system that ran from 2018 till April 16, 2024, the world champion would earn 13,000 points, which is 1,500 points fewer than what the current system offers to the winners.
Likewise, the runners-up would receive 11,000 ranking points, which is close to what the semi-finalists now make in the new system. As for the No. 3 and No. 4 players/pairs, they would bag 9,200 points (10,100 for No. 3 in the Olympics).
Here’s the complete breakdown of the old points system:
| Position | BWF World Championships | Summer Olympics |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | 13,000 | 13,000 |
| Runners-up | 11,000 | 11,000 |
| Third | 9,200 | 10,100 |
| Fourth | 9,200 | 9,200 |
| 5-8 | 7,200 | 7,200 |
| 9-16 | 5,200 | 5,200 |
| 17-32 | 3,200 | 3,200 |
| 33-64 | 1,300 | 1,300 |
Final Words
As evident, the new ranking points system offers more points than the previous structure. This obviously motivates the shuttlers to give their all since they don’t earn any prize money in the BWF World Championships.
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