Badminton to trial synthetic shuttlecocks because of feather shortage

Badminton will trial synthetic shuttlecocks at lower-grade tournaments with a view to potentially using them at elite level, the sport's governing body said, because of a shortage of duck and goose feathers. "This initiative forms part of BWF's long‑term approach to evaluating synthetic feather shuttlecocks for potential use at the elite level," it said in a statement.