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

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

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

And while Demark is the historic powerhouse in Europe, the growth of other nations means we may well see a surprise sprung in the French capital.

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

READ MORE: The quest for Paris 2024 Olympic qualification begins

How many athletes will compete in badminton at Paris 2024?

In total, 172 quota places will be 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 will be allocated via direct qualification, one is reserved for the host country and two for Universality places.

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

As opposed to other sports that allocate spots to athletes by name, all quota places will be allocated to NOCs.

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

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

What is the badminton qualification pathway to Paris 2024?

The ‘Paris Ranking Lists’ as of 30 April 2024 will be used to award quota places in men's and women's singles events, as well as men's, women's and mixed doubles events.

Each list will be based on the results achieved between 1 May 2023 and 28 April 2024.

The results taken into account will be the ones of the competitions below, as follows:

• Thomas & Uber Cup
• Sudirman Cup
• World Championships
• Grade 2 BWF tour tournaments – Levels 1 to 6
• Grade 3 BWF Continental tour tournaments - International Challenge, International Series & Future Series
• Continental Championships (individual and team)
• Continental Multi sports 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 BWF approval as being part of the World Ranking Lists

Qualification pathway for single events

A total of 70 athletes will qualify for the singles events through the BWF ‘Race to Paris Ranking List’: 35 in the men's and 35 in the women's events.

Those quota places will include the Continental Representation Places. In each singles event, there will be at least two athletes from each of the five BWF Continental Confederations (Continental Representation Places) provided the player is ranked 250 or above (ranked between 1-250) in the BWF Race to Paris Ranking list of 30 April 2024.

Qualification pathway for the doubles events

A total of 48 pairs will qualify for the doubles events through the BWF ‘Race to Paris Ranking Lists’ of 30 April 2024: 16 in the men's event, 16 in the women's event and 16 in the mixed event. In each doubles event there will be at least one pair from each of the five BWF Continental Confederations (Continental Representation Place).

What is the Paris 2024 badminton competition format and schedule?

The badminton competitions will be held in the Porte de La Chapelle Arena, located in the north of Paris, between 27 July and 5 August.

The format of both singles and doubles events are divided in two phases: the group and knockout stages. The knockout stages begin with the round of 16 for singles events, and quarterfinals for doubles events.

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Badminton athletes to watch at Paris 2024

In the men’s singles event, Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen is in dominant form. After winning gold at Tokyo 2020, he went on to win his second world title in 2022. His teammate Anders Antonsen will also be among the favourites.

Japan’s double world champion Momota Kento will be aiming for redemption after failing to qualify for the knockout stages at Tokyo 2020 as the top seed. There may also be surprises, as Kevin Cordón proved at the last edition of the Games. Ranked 59th in the world before Tokyo 2020, he reached the semifinals and showed that hierarchy means little at the most important sporting event in the world.

In the women's singles event, Rio 2016 gold medallist Carolina Marin will attempt to win a second Olympic title. The Spanish shuttler claimed her sixth European title in 2022, however could not go further than the quarter-finals at the World Championships in the same year. Japan’s Yamaguchi Akane won gold on home soil at the Worlds beating the reigning Olympic champion CHEN Yufei from People's Republic of China in the final.

In the women's doubles, Chinese pair CHEN Quingchen and JIA Yifan won gold at the World Championships 2022 after clinching silver at Tokyo 2020. They will certainly be among the favourites for Paris 2024, along with Republic of Korea pair KIM So-yeong and KONG Hee-yong who came second at the World Championships.

On the men's side, Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists Aaron Chia and Soh Wook Yik from Malaysia won gold at the Worlds and will attempt to do the same at the next Olympics. Reigning Olympic champions LEE Yang and WANG Chi-lin will also be aiming for the top step on the podium in France.

The mixed doubles competition is dominated by Chinese pairs, particularly Olympic silver medallists ZHENG Siwei and HUANG Yaqiong who won gold at the Worlds after briefly splitting after the last Olympics. They will aim to clinch the only title missing from their resume in France. WANG Yilyu and HUANG Dongping are the reigning Olympic champions and won bronze a year later at the World Championships, however it is yet to be confirmed whether they will team up again on the road to Paris 2024. However, the Japanese pair composed of Watanabe Yuta and Higashino Arisa, bronze medallists at Tokyo 2020 and silver medallists at the Worlds in 2022, will also be aiming for gold in Paris.

Badminton qualification timeline to Paris 2024

• 1 May 2023 to 28 April 2024: Ranking Period for the ‘Race to Paris Ranking Lists’
• 15 January 2024: Deadline for NOCs to submit their requests for Universality Places.
• 28 April 2024: End of the qualification period.
• 30 April 2024: The ‘Race to Paris Ranking Lists’ are published.
• 8 May 2024:Deadline for the Host Country to confirm in writing to the BWF, the Host Country Places.
• TBD: The Tripartite Commission to confirm in writing the allocation of Universality Places to the NOCs (where applicable).
• 10 May 2024: The BWF to inform NOCs/NFs of their allocated quota places.
• 24 May 2024: NOCs to confirm in writing the use of allocated quota places to the BWF.
• By 5 July 2024: Deadline for the BWF to reallocate all unused quota places.
• 8 July 2024: Paris 2024 Sport Entries deadline
• 26 July – 11 August 2024: Olympic Games Paris 2024

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