3X3 Badminton: Faster and Time-Challenged

Badminton XL (BXL) is an exhibition badminton tournament organized by SPOTV in 2024 and 2025 in Jakarta. This year, the event is held at the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Hall, Senayan, Jakarta, from October 2 to 5.

The concept is a team tournament. A total of four teams, each consisting of eight athletes, will compete during the break of the BWF World Tour, which is after the series of tournaments in East Asia in September and before the European Tour in mid-October to early November.

The four teams (Rockets, Hurricanes, Blitzers, Lightning), comprised of athletes from various countries, competed in a round robin format to determine the top two who would qualify for the final on Sunday. They included Viktor Axelsen, Mia Blichfeldt (Denmark), Kodai Naroka (Japan), Chirag Shetty, Treesa Jolly (India), and Malaysian players. Five Indonesian athletes from the national training center also participated: Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, Fajar Alfian, Muhammad Rian Ardianto, Apriyani Rahayu, and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti.

To enhance the appeal of the event, the organizing committee has added the position of team captain, which will be held by former Indonesian athletes, namely Vita Marissa for the Rockets team, Flandy Limpele for the Hurricanes, Greysia Polii for the Lightning, and Hendra Setiawan for the Blitzers.

Since it is an exhibition event—one of the characteristics of an exhibition match is that it does not compete for ranking points—the concept is also different from other team championships such as the Thomas and Uber Cups as well as the Sudirman Cup.

There are no duplicate numbers in BXL. In addition to the men's and women's singles, other events contested include three-on-three (3X3). This event is held in the first match (consisting of two male players and one female player) and the fourth match (one male and two female players). Therefore, each encounter between two teams takes place over four matches.

Those who are usually opponents in BWF tournaments are, this time, defending the same team. Doubles players have even become partners, as experienced by Indonesian men's doubles athlete Mohammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani and Goh Sze Fei (Malaysia) in the Hurricanes Team.

There are also Fajar and Nur Izuddin (Malaysia/Lightning), Rian and Teo Ee Yi (Malaysia/Rockets), and Apriyani and Misaki Matsutomo (Japan/Blitzers).

"A rare opportunity to play three against three because it only happens at this event. The match is exciting," said Rian, who played alongside Teo and Melati Daeva Oktavianti.

The trio of Rian/Teo/Melati defeated Reza, Mathias Chistiansen (Denmark), and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja in the first match of the Rockets against the Hurricanes with a score of 14-10, 13-9, 15-8, 14-18 at Istora, Thursday (2/10/2025) during the afternoon session.

The maximum score in each game varies because the matches are time-limited, rather than point-limited to 21 as in official badminton matches. All parties implement the rule of 4 games X 8 minutes with various additional rules under certain conditions.

The 3X3 party competes for three points, while the singles have one point of victory. If the scores of the two teams are tied at 4-4 after all matches are held, the winner is determined through a singles match to compete for a maximum of five points in a system called the Ultimate Shuttle Showdown (USS).

The choice of men's or women's singles number to be played is determined by the team captain before the match.

When playing, I always have to keep an eye on the 'time' (time). Interesting.

The system was used when the Blitzers faced the Lightning on Thursday night. Both teams received four points after the Lightning won the first 3X3 and the men's singles when Axelsen defeated Jonatan Christie.

The four points for the Blitzers were obtained from the women's single party through Michelle Li, who defeated Nguyen Thuy Linh, and from the second 3X3 match. In the determination of the winner using the USS system, the Blitzers won when Jonatan defeated Axelsen 5-4.

Before facing Jonatan in the USS match, Axelsen participated in a 3X3 game. The match indeed allowed for player substitutions during the game. The 2017 and 2022 world champion was enthusiastic about participating in the three-on-three contest.

The 3X3 event is indeed a match eagerly awaited by badminton fans at BXL. This match is even played twice to replace the men's and women's doubles events that were held at BXL 2024.

Many of the participants are playing three against three in a match for the first time, although this style of play is commonly practiced during routine training. In training, the 3X3 (or 2X3) program is implemented for offensive practice.

One side of the field occupied by three players reduces the space for the opponent to attack. It is very difficult to find a gap to launch an attack without it being countered by the opponent.

Each shot was returned quickly, leading to a drive-based match. The quickness of each player's reflexes was put to the test.

"I find it quite difficult because the game is very fast," said Malaysian women's player, Lai Shevon Jemie, who usually plays mixed doubles with her husband, Goh Soon Huat.

While playing with Fajar and Izuddin, Shevon tried to match the speed of her two teammates when facing Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Ong Yew Sin/Lai Pei Jing (Blitzers). When Fajar noticed that Shevon was struggling to anticipate the game from the front court, he requested to switch positions in the second game. After the serve, Fajar and Shevon even positioned themselves at the front of the court to more quickly intercept the opponent's shots.

"That is part of the strategy. With male players in front, we can apply pressure on the opponents. It is quite tense and difficult to play 3X3 because there is no empty space," said Fajar.

The combination of Fajar/Izuddin/Shevon was once again trusted to play in the 3X3 match when Lightning faced off against Hurricanes on Friday (3/10/2025). However, they were defeated by the trio of Goh/Christiansen/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti.

The 3X3 rhythm with two female players and one male player is slightly slower compared to two male players and one female player, but the match remains exciting. Jolly, the Indian women's doubles athlete, secured the victory for the Hurricanes over the Lightning with a score of 6-2 in the second 3X3 match. Jolly's smash directed at Fajar's body could not be returned by the Indonesian men's doubles athlete.

Additional regulations also require each player to win by a significant score margin if they wish to avoid extra time, one of which is through the "Pressure Point" (PP). This system will be activated if the score difference after eight minutes is three points or less. When this occurs, the leading athlete must add one point to win the game, while the trailing athlete must surpass the opponent's score.

Shevon believes that time-limited badminton adds to the challenge. "When playing, I always have to pay attention to the 'time'. It's interesting," she said.