Female badminton players had one more day to buy a skirt or dress if they wanted to continue playing at the highest levels, but the governing body blinked under criticism on Monday.
The Badminton World Federation has suspended its new and controversial regulation that would have required women to wear skirts or dresses in competitive matches, according to USA Today.
The new rule stated that, "in order to ensure attractive presentation of Badminton at tournaments organized or sanctioned by the BWF, all clothing worn by players shall be acceptable Badminton sports clothing. In level 1-3 tournaments women must wear skirts or dresses."
The new policy, intended to "raise the profile of women in Badminton" was announced in April and originally slated to take effect May 1. Yet a wave of swift reaction, mostly negative, had prompted officials to push the date back to June 1.
Many athletes have called the policy sexist and athletically inhibiting, especially for Muslim women who play the sport in shorts or long pants. The requirement to wear a skirt or dress on top of pants could negatively affect their ability to play.
"It doesn't matter what Kobe Bryant wears," 28-year-old Mesinee Mangkalakiri told the New York Times. Mangkalakiri competed in badminton for the United States in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. "People like his skills on the court. You'd hope they come to watch you because you are their favorite player and you have ability and style, not because you're wearing someone's favorite skirt."
Female athletes also expressed frustration about a double standard because male badminton players have no rules regarding what they can or can't wear.
Other female athletes say they'd already chosen to wear skirts and looked forward to raising the standard of badminton attire.
"I am thrilled to be part of putting the women's game higher on the agenda in the BWF. And the new clothing regulations are one of the tools that can help create a better presentation and more distinct profile of the women's game," former world champion Nora Perry, who also heads the BWF Women in Badminton Working Group, said in the Federation's release. "Being a woman myself I do not think that the rules in any way discriminate against women. The rules give sufficient room for the players to chose comfortable clothing and still be living up to the intentions of the regulations."
BWF officials said their new rule has been misunderstood.
"It has never been the intention of the BWF to portray women as sexual objects, and nor is that what we are doing," said Paisan Rangsikitpho, deputy president of the organization, in the LA Times blog.
"We just want them to look feminine and have a nice presentation so women will be more popular," he said in the New York Times. "Hardly anybody is watching. TV ratings are down. We want to build them up to where they should be. They play quite well. We want them to look nicer on the court and have more marketing value for themselves. I'm surprised we got a lot of criticism."
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