TOKYO, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The Congress of the International Badminton Federation (IBF) voted here on Saturday to adopt the new best-of-three and 21-point scoring system in all its events, putting an end to the long-running controversy over the rules.

    The final decision came after the world ruling body of the sport had experimented with the scoring system since February 1.

    Under the new system, points are scored on each rally, while the old system awards one point only to the serving player who wins a rally.

    Matches will also be played best of three, up to 21 points (3x21), instead of best of three, up to 15 (3x15), or up to 11 (3x11) in women's singles.

    The IBF has said that the new system will shorten the duration of the match and make the sport more appealing to the media, in particular television.

    But the critics prefer the "slower-burn" of the traditional method, complaining that the new rules will give players less chance to come back from falling behind.

    The new method, however, has brought more suspense to the ongoing Thomas & Uber Cup here.

    Traditional badminton powerhouses South Korea suffered upsets after failing to make the last four of the Uber Cup.

    But Germany and Chinese Taipei advanced to their first ever semifinals while Netherlands historically reached the final of the tournament for the first time. Enditem