Opposing the new rule, which BWF said was to boost the sport's profile among viewers and will come into effect from next month, NCW's acting-chairperson Yasmin Abrar told PTI that "forcing a dress code for making the game attractive is wrong. Sports should be treated as sports and viewed as sports...If need be, we will write to the BWF."
"What is important is your performance and how you play...not what you wear," she said.
The BWF had in 2009 introduced a new dress code which requires all female players to wear skirts "to ensure attractive presentation of badminton".
AIDWA General Secretary Sudha Sundaraman was more strident in her criticism.
"We will certainly dispatch a letter to BWF against the rule which is a reflective of reactionary and patriarchal mindset. The performance of the players should be important and not what they wear. Players should be given the right to choose what they wear," she said.
BWF's new rule is a step to glamourise badminton like tennis but has created a furore in India with some former and current players saying such an "unfair" move could discourage girls from taking up the sport.