Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" and "doubles". Badminton is often played as a casual outdoor activity in a yard or on a beach; formal games are played on a rectangular indoor court. Points are scored by striking the shuttlecock with the racquet and landing it within the opposing side's half of the court.
Badminton had its debut as an official event on the 1992 Summer Olympics and has been contested in eight Olympiads. 74 different nations have appeared in the Olympic badminton competitions, with 18 appearing all eight times. It is governed by the Badminton World Federation.
The badminton tournaments at the 2012 Olympic Games in London took place between 28 July and 5 August at Wembley Arena.
The Olympic qualification period was between 2 May 2011 and 29 April 2012, and the Badminton World Federation rankings list, published on 3 May 2012, was used to allocate spots. Nations can enter a total of three players. Three quota places if three players are ranked four or above, two if two players are ranked 16 or above and otherwise one quota place until the quota contingent of 38 is filled.
Chloe Noelle Magee is an Irish professional badminton player. She represented her country at the Olympic Games for three consecutive times in 2008 Beijing, 2012 London, and 2016 Rio de Janeiro. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, she became the first Irish woman to win a badminton match at the Olympics. She has been described as "the poster girl for Irish badminton". Together with her brother Sam Magee, she clinched a bronze medal at the 2017 European Championships, became Ireland's first medal at the European Badminton Championship. The duo also captured the bronze medals at the 2015 and 2019 European Games.
The BWF World Ranking is the official ranking of the Badminton World Federation for badminton players who participate in tournaments sanctioned by Badminton World Federation. It is used to determine the qualification for the World Championships and Summer Olympic Games, as well as BWF World Tour tournaments. Seedings of draws at all BWF-sanctioned tournaments are conducted using the BWF World Ranking. Players under 19 years of age are eligible to rank in the BWF World Junior Ranking, which were introduced in January 2011. The following lists are the rankings:
The badminton tournaments at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo took place between 24 July and 2 August 2021. A total of 172 athletes competed in five events: men's singles, men's doubles, women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles.
Badminton at the 2015 European Games in Baku took place from 22 to 28 June 2015 at Baku Sports Hall. The competition was held over a seven-day period and include five medal events in men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles. Approximately 160 athletes competed.
160 athletes, 80 men and 80 women, will compete in five Badminton events at the 2015 European Games in Baku.
Poland competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation's official debut in 1924, Polish athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games except the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, because of the Soviet boycott.
Thailand competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation's official debut in 1952, Thai athletes had appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, because of its partial support of the US-led boycott.
Indonesia competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's fifteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics.
This article details the qualifying phase for badminton at the 2016 Summer Olympics. The Olympic qualification period takes place between May 4, 2015 and May 1, 2016, and the Badminton World Federation rankings list, scheduled to publish on May 5, 2016, will be used to allocate spots. Unlike the previous Games, nations could only enter a maximum of two players each in the men's and women's singles, if both are ranked in the world's top 16; otherwise, one quota place until the roster of thirty-eight players has been completed. Similar regulations in the singles tournaments also apply to the players competing in the doubles, as the NOCs could only enter a maximum of two pairs if both are ranked in the top eight, while the remaining NOCs are entitled to one until the quota of 16 highest-ranked pairs is filled.
Stefani Stoeva is a Bulgarian badminton player specializing in doubles. Her current partner is her older sister, Gabriela Stoeva. They competed at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. The duo together have won gold medals in the 2015 European Games and three successive European Championships in 2018, 2021 and 2022 editions. Stefani Stoeva has also won some individual titles in women's singles competition.
Iris Wang is an American badminton player who competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Lohaynny Caroline de Oliveira Vicente is a Brazilian badminton player who has qualified to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics in her home city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Kate Jessica Kim Lee Foo Kune is a badminton player from Mauritius. She began playing badminton in Mauritius at age six. Her first major tournament participation was 2013 BWF World Championships in China, where she lost in the first round of women's singles to Sarah Walker of England. Foo Kune represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was the flag bearer for Mauritius during the Parade of Nations.
There are 172 quota places available for qualification for badminton at the 2020 Summer Olympics. The Olympic qualification period takes place between April 29, 2019 and April 25, 2021, and the Badminton World Federation rankings list, scheduled to publish on June 15, 2021, will be used to allocate spots. Nations can enter a maximum of two players each in the men's and women's singles if both are ranked in the world's top 16; otherwise, one quota place until the roster of thirty-eight players has been completed. Similar regulations also apply to the players competing in the doubles, as the NOCs can enter a maximum of two pairs if both are ranked in the top eight, while the remaining NOCs are entitled to one until the quota of 16 highest-ranked pairs is filled.
Qualification for badminton at the 2020 Summer Paralympics begins on 1 January 2019 to 16 May 2021. There are 90 expected slots for the sport across fourteen medal events.
