Get ready to witness the extravaganza of badminton, as a total of 87 male and 86 female players representing 50 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) from the five Continental Confederations have been selected for the forthcoming Tokyo Olympics, which is scheduled to start on 23 July 2021 to 8 Aug 2021. However, badminton will start onwards from 24 July to 2 August 2021. (Find out the schedule, rounds and session times for Badminton)
(Click here for the Entire List of Olympic Games Badminton Competition Entry List)
Men’s singles gold medalist from Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Chen Long from China is the only defending champion in any of the five categories.
Pusarla V. Sindhu (India), Viktor Axelsen (Denmark), Nozomi Okuhara (Japan) and Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying (Malaysia) are the other returning medalists in their categories. Shin Seungchan (Korea) will look to better her women’s doubles Rio 2016 bronze with new partner Lee Sohee.
Hendra Setiawan (Indonesia) could become the first badminton player in Olympic history to medal 13 years apart if he reaches the podium in Tokyo. He won men’s doubles gold with the late Markis Kido at Beijing in 2008.
Regards to the selection of these athletes for the Tokyo Olympics games, BWF President Poul-Erik Hoyer pass on his congratulations to all of them. According to the BWF official release, Poul-Erik Hoyer said, “For the last 18 months, the world has battled a pandemic, and athletes have been affected like everyone else. But as we have gained the upper hand over the coronavirus thanks to the efforts of scientists, vaccine makers and frontline personnel, we are on the cusp of staging the Olympics. This time, its significance goes far beyond sport. It stands as a beacon of hope for everyone struggling to get their lives back on track. All of you who have qualified for Tokyo 2020 can be proud, for this is an exceptional achievement. Being part of an Olympics as a participant is a rare opportunity and an honour, and these memories will be with you for a lifetime. Regardless of whether you win a medal or not, you can tell future generations: ‘I was there!’
“Winning a medal is of course what drives competition, and my warmest wishes are there for each one of you. For many months, hundreds of people, directly and indirectly, have worked towards making this event possible. Now the stage is set for you to do what you do best. Finally, badminton players are renowned for fair play, and this will be another occasion where you show the world that while you are tough competitors, you compete in the best spirit of sport. I’m sure you will do the sport and your nation proud. Stay safe, enjoy the occasion, and all the best for your matches,” he added.
On Thursday 8 July 2021, the draw for the Tokyo Olympics will be held at 2 pm BST, at the National Badminton Centre in Milton Keynes, England. The same will be streamed live on BWF social networking channels.
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