REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, NEW DELHI -- Indonesia has hailed the application of a ranking system by the World Badminton Federation (BWF) for the Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup championships in New Delhi on May 18-25.

"The new rule is quite logical and fair, with every team facing pressure to become a group champion," Indonesia's Uber Cup team manager Imelda Wigoena said here on Saturday.

The ranking system to be applied from qualification to semifinal rounds will make competition in the event fairer and close any chance for teams to choose their opponents.

Under the rule, the winner of the group will meet the runner-up of other groups based on a toss after the qualification round.

Therefore, Imelda said Indonesia will have to become a group's champion if it wishes to avoid defending champion China, which is considered as the favorite for a group's champion.

The BWF has applied a ranking system to determine the participants of the final rounds of the Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup.

In the semifinal round, BWF will check the four participants with regard to their rankings so that the first-rank team will not meet the second-rank team.

The Instant Review System will also be introduced for the first time in the Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup championships this year.

Under the system, players are allowed to express their objection to linesmen's decisions by saying "challenge". They will then recheck the video records caught using eight high-tech cameras of where exactly the shuttlecock had fallen.

A day before the opening of the championships on Saturday, players from the participating teams were conducting warming up activities at the Siri Fort Sport Complex, where the men and women badminton championships are to be held.

Indonesian players had used two courts made available by the committee for warming up for around an hour.

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