How to qualify for badminton at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained

While badminton is firmly established at the Olympics, it only made its Olympic debut at Barcelona 1992following two editions as a demonstration sport Munich 1972 and Seoul 1988.

Since then, the People’s Republic of China has been the most successful NOK with 47 medals, including 20 gold medals. Indonesia is second in the medal table with 21 medals, including eight gold medals.

And while Denmark is the historic powerhouse in Europe, the growth of other nations means we’re in for quite a surprise in the French capital.

Find out everything you need to know about the qualification path below.

CONTINUE READING: The pursuit of Olympic qualification for Paris 2024 begins

How many athletes will compete in badminton in Paris 2024?

In total, 172 quota places is awarded for the badminton competitions at the Olympic Games Paris 2024: 86 for women and 86 for men. This is the same total as Tokyo 2020.

for each gender, 83 quota places are awarded via direct qualification, one is reserved for the host country and two are reserved for Universality places.

A max of eight different athletes per gender from the same NOC will be allowed to participate.

Unlike other sports that give places to athletes by name, all quota places are given to NOCs.

In the men’s and women’s individual competitions, two quota places (for two athletes) will be awarded to the NOCs with two or more athletes ranked 1 to 16 in the “Paris Ranking”. Otherwise one quota place is allowed per NOC.

In men’s, women’s and mixed doubles the same system will be used, however the two quota places (for four athletes) will be awarded to the NOCs who have two or more pairs between 1 and 8.

What is the badminton qualification path for Paris 2024?

That ‘Paris Rankings’ as of April 30, 2024 are used to allocate quota places in men’s and women’s singles competitions as well as men’s, women’s and mixed doubles competitions.

Each list is based on the results obtained in between May 1, 2023 and April 28, 2024.

The results of the following competitions will be considered as follows:

• Thomas & Uber Cup
• Sudirman Cup
• World Championship
• Grade 2 BWF Tour Tournaments – Levels 1 through 6
• Grade 3 BWF Continental Tour Tournaments – International Challenge, International Series & Future Series
• Continental Championships (individual and team)
• Continental Multisport Games – Pan American Games, European Games and African Games (if sanctioned during the qualification period)
• Any other international event sanctioned by BWF and included in advance and with the permission of BWF as part of the world rankings

Qualification path for individual events

All in all 70 athletes qualify for the individual competitions via the BWF “Race to Paris Ranking List”: 35 for men and 35 for women.

These quota places include the continental representation places. Each individual event will feature at least two athletes from each of the five BWF confederations (continental representative locations), provided the player is ranked 250 or higher (ranked 1-250) in the BWF Race to Paris rankings as of 30 April 2024.

Qualification path for the doubles competitions

All in all 48 pairs qualify for the doubles via the BWF “Race to Paris Ranking Lists” of April 30, 2024: 16 for men, 16 for women and 16 for mixed. At each doubles competition, at least one couple from each of the five BWF confederations (continental representative seat) will participate.

What is the format and schedule of the Paris 2024 badminton competition?

The badminton competitions take place Porte de la Chapelle ArenaLocated north of Paris, between July 27th and August 5th.

The format of both the singles and doubles events is divided into two phases: the group and the knockout phase. The knockout round begins with the round of 16 for singles competitions and the quarterfinals for doubles competitions.

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Badminton athletes to be seen in Paris 2024

In men’s singles, Denmark Victor Axelsen is in dominant form. After winning gold in Tokyo in 2020, he won his second world title in 2022. His teammate Anders Antonsen will also be among the favourites.

Japan’s two-time world champion Momota Kento will seek redemption after failing to qualify as a top seed for Tokyo 2020 knockout rounds. There can also be surprises, e.g Kevin Cordon proved at the last edition of the games. Ranked 59th in the world ahead of Tokyo 2020, he reached the semi-finals and showed that hierarchy means little at the world’s premier sporting event.

Gold medalist in women’s singles in Rio 2016 Caroline Marin will try to win a second Olympic title. The Spanish shuttler claimed her sixth European title in 2022 but failed to advance beyond the quarterfinals at the World Championships that same year. Japan’s Yamaguchi Akane won gold on home soil at the World Championships, beating the reigning Olympic champion CHEN Yufei from the People’s Republic of China in the final.

Chinese couple in women’s doubles CHEN Qingchen and JIA Yifan won gold at the 2022 World Championships after taking silver at Tokyo 2020. They will surely be among the favorites for Paris 2024 along with the Korea Republic pair Kim So-yeong and KONG Hee-yong who finished second at the World Championships.

Men’s bronze medalists from Tokyo 2020 Aaron Chia and Soh Wook Yik from Malaysia won gold at the World Championships and will try to do the same at the next Olympics. Reigning Olympic champions Lee Yang and WANG Chi-lin will also strive for the top step on the podium in France.

Mixed doubles competition is dominated by Chinese pairs, particularly Olympic silver medalists ZHENG Siwei and HUANG Yaqiong who won gold at the World Championships after briefly splitting up after the recent Olympics. They will aim to clinch the only title missing from their CV in France. WANG Yilyu and HUANG Dongping are the reigning Olympic champions and won bronze at the World Championships a year later, but it’s not yet confirmed if they will reunite en route to Paris 2024 Watanabe Yuta and Higashino ArisaBronze medalists at Tokyo 2020 and silver medalists at the 2022 World Championships will also be aiming for gold in Paris.

Badminton qualification schedule until Paris 2024

• May 1, 2023 to April 28, 2024: Ranking period for the “Race to Paris Ranking Lists”
• January 15, 2024: Deadline for NOCs to submit their applications for universality spots.
• April 28, 2024: End of qualifying period.
• April 30, 2024: The “Race to Paris Ranking Lists” are published.
• May 8, 2024: Deadline for the host country to confirm in writing to the BWF, the host country places.
• open: The tripartite commission must confirm in writing the allocation of universality places to the NOCs (if applicable).
• May 10, 2024: The BWF informs the NOCs/NFs about their allocated quota places.
• May 24, 2024: NOKs must confirm in writing to the BWF that they will use the allocated quota places.
• Until July 5, 2024: Deadline for the BWF to reallocate all unused quota places.
• July 8, 2024: Paris 2024 Sport Deadline
• July 26 – August 11, 2024: Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Find out more about the qualification system for other sports that will be used at Paris 2024.