3 min readApr 8, 2026 03:07 PM IST Just last year, the falling popularity of duck meat had coincided with badminton shuttlecock manufacturers struggling for raw material to make shuttles. It had led to a twofold rise in prices of certain shuttle stocks. A year on, BWF has clearly brought forward its plans to introduce synthetic shuttles that mimic the look and feel of the feather ones.BWF approved use of synthetic shuttlecocks at selected tournaments. These include synthetics made by VICTOR and YONEX, and will be used at BWF Grade 3 tournaments and Junior International tournaments. The federation said this initiative was part of BWF’s long‑term approach to “evaluating synthetic feather shuttlecocks for potential use at the elite level.” The federation had been working equally with VICTOR, a Taiwanese sporting major and badminton equipment market leader YONEX to assess the quality and performance of synthetic shuttlecocks in higher‑level competitive settings, with a particular focus on ensuring that flight and playing characteristics align with current competition standards. BWF specified the approved products for use during this …