The reform proposal of replacing the current best of three games of 21 points with five games of 11 points in the current badminton scoring system failed to pass at the 82nd Badminton World Federation (BWF) Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday.

A total of 282 votes were cast at the remote meeting, according to the global badminton governing body. 66.31 percent supported the reform proposed by the Indonesian Badminton Association and the Badminton Association of Maldives and 33.69 percent were against it. It came close but still fell short of the two-thirds majority required to be approved.

"Our Membership has spoken, and despite the very small margin in which the two-thirds majority was not reached, the BWF respects the outcome to retain the three games to 21 points scoring system," said Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen, President of the BWF.

"It is now the second time such a proposal has not been approved, but I see the fantastic participation of the Membership and the decision reached today as an indication that the badminton community is very much engaged in the best interests of the sport during these difficult and challenging times," added Larsen, who won Olympic men's singles badminton gold medal for Denmark in Atlanta in 1996.

Larsen was re-elected as the BWF President at the AGM. "I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the confidence you have put in me to be your President for another term. I will do whatever I can to live up to your trust and to work hard to develop badminton to an even higher level."

"While the proposed scoring system change has been part of my vision to make badminton more exciting and to increase the entertainment value for stakeholders and fans, this will not deter us from continuing our efforts to increase excellence in badminton for all concerned in line with our Strategic Plan 2020-2024."

The incumbent Deputy President and Vice President-Para Badminton were also re-elected. Zhang Jun, president of the Chinese Badminton Association, was elected as one of the 20 BWF Council Members after receiving the highest votes, according to Xinhua News Agency.

(With input from Xinhua News Agency)