With just over two months remaining until the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the BWF officially announced the roster of 173 athletes set to compete in the badminton events.
For a detailed view of the athletes qualified in each category, click on the links below:
The list includes 166 athletes filling the regular quota (83 men and 83 women), three universality places awarded by the IOC Tripartite Commission (two men and one woman), and an additional spot for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team member Dorsa Yavarivafa. Yavarivafa will be the second badminton player to represent the IOC Refugee Olympic Team following Aram Mahmoud's participation at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
There are no host quota places this time as French athletes have secured their spots through rankings. The unused host quota places (one male and one female) were redistributed to other eligible athletes. Additionally, only one universality slot for women's singles was used, with the other being reassigned to the reallocation pool.
Europe has some strong contenders, with several top players including Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen, the defending men’s singles champion. Spain’s Carolina Marin, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro women’s singles gold medallist who missed Tokyo 2020 due to injury, is also among the qualifiers and has been confirmed to attend. Anders Antonsen of Denmark, who made his Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020, has qualified and been selected once more, showing strong potential for a standout performance following his good performances this year – having been crowned European champion a month ago and winning his first Super 1000 earlier this year.
Several athletes will be experiencing their first Olympics, whereas others will be returning veterans. Spain’s Pablo Abian is gearing up for his fifth Olympics, and Belgium’s Lianne Tan and Israel’s Misha Zilberman are preparing for their fourth.
It's crucial to remember that qualifying for the Olympics doesn't guarantee participation; selection is ultimately decided by each National Olympic Committee – sometimes taking a decision together with the nation's badminton federation –, which may have specific selection criteria. For instance, Denmark recently announced that they have chosen Mia Blichfeldt, ranked 22nd in the Race to Paris, over Line Kjærsfeldt, ranked 21st, for the women’s singles event.
Click here to see the Race to Paris Olympic Games Qualification Regulations.