IBF want female players to ‘get glamorous’
The International Badminton Federation (IBF) are calling on their female players to wear more glamorous outfits, complaining that the traditional style of dress is too old fashioned.
The IBF deputy president Datuk Punch Gunalan said at the World Championships in Anaheim on Sunday that he wished the women would dress more like Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova.
“We are too old fashioned,” Gunalan said.
“Nowadays the girls are becoming a little better dressed. We need to be in the fashion world. So we would like to see players wear more appealing clothes to the public. By appealing, I mean use it for everyday use. So when people walk around, they would want to wear it. Unfortunately we are far away from that. Let’s take Maria Sharapova. Look at her tank tops. It is pretty.”
New Zealand bronze medallist Sara Runesten-Petersen said that she is in favour of anything that will attract more fans to the sport as long as it isn’t forced on them.
“I wouldn’t mind it. I can’t wear skimpy tops because of my shape but some of the girls have beautiful bodies so there is nothing to hide,” said Runesten-Petersen.
“Lots of girls wear skirts and skimpy tops why not when they play sports?
“I wouldn’t want to play in just a bra but a (tank) top is fine. Why not when you are a girl, look like a girl. But it should be up to the individual and not enforced.”
Olympic champion Zhang Ning, of China, said that she had no objection as long as it was done tastefully.
“It is acceptable to me,” said top seed Zhang. “The tank top is all right, just not the string top.”
Gunalan said that he was talking to attire manufacturers about coming up with some new ideas.
“There is too much monopoly right now for one company, Yonex. We need to get companies like Reebok, Nike and Adidas involved,” he said. – AFP
Yeah, they should sack the designers at Yonex. The earlier they do that, the better.
