Mathias Boe is a Danish former badminton player. He was the gold medalist at the 2015 European Games, two time European champions winning in 2012 and 2017, and the silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Boe was a part of the 2016 Thomas Cup winning team.
Carolina María Marín Martín is a Spanish badminton player. She is an Olympic Champion, three-time World Champion, and eight-time European Champion. She once held the No. 1 BWF World Ranking in women's singles for a total of 66 weeks. She has won the World Championships in 2014, 2015, and 2018, becoming the second women's singles player after Han Aiping to win the title three times. Marín is the only player in history to win at least seven gold medals in a single discipline of any continental championship, having won every European Championships title since 2014, and a European Games title in 2023. She also won the Olympic gold medal in women's singles at the 2016 Rio Olympics, thereby becoming the only non-Asian female player to win a badminton gold medal at the Olympics.
Pusarla Venkata Sindhu, popularly known as PV Sindhu, is an Indian badminton player. Considered as one of India's most successful athletes, Sindhu has won medals at various tournaments such as the Olympic Games, the World Championships, and on the World Tour. She is the first and only Indian to become the badminton world champion and only the second individual from India to win two consecutive medals at the Olympic Games. She rose to a career-high world ranking of No. 2 in April 2017.
Viktor Axelsen is a Danish badminton player. He is a two-time Olympic Champion, two-time World Champion, and four-time European Champion. He has held the No. 1 BWF World Ranking in men's singles for a total of 183 weeks, and he is the current world No. 3. Throughout his career, Axelsen has won every single major title in both team and individual events at least once, except for Sudirman Cup. Known for his powerful smashes and solid defence, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest badminton players of all time.
Ratchanok Intanon is a Thai badminton player who became the first Thai to become No.1 in women's singles. She is known for her relaxed hitting motion and light footwork, which has been described as 'balletic' by commentators such as Gillian Clark. She became the world champion in women's singles in 2013.
Kevin Haroldo Cordón Buezo is a Guatemalan badminton player. He won two men's singles titles at the Pan American Games, four titles at the Pan Am Championships, and six titles at the Central American and Caribbean Games. He is a five-time Olympian for Guatemala participating at the 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 and the 2024 Olympic Games.
Neslihan Arın is a Turkish badminton player. She won the women's singles title at the 2013 Islamic Solidarity Games, 2013, 2018 Mediterranean Games and the women's doubles title at the 2013 Mediterranean Games. Arın also won the bronze medals at the 2015 European Games and at the 2021 European Championships, 2022 European Championships and 2024 European Championships
Misha Zilberman is an Olympic badminton player. Born in Russia, he competed for Israel at the 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics, coming in 33rd, 14th, and 15th respectively, with his 2024 results still to be determined. He also won a bronze medal at the 2022 European Badminton Championships, and bronze medals at the 2019 and 2023 European Games. He is the first Israeli player to win a medal at the European Badminton Championships. Zilberman represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in badminton in the Men's singles, in his fourth consecutive Olympic Games, and came in 27th.
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:
Nozomi Okuhara is a Japanese badminton player. A former World's number 1 in the BWF rankings for the women's singles, she is well known for her speed, agility and endurance. She won a bronze at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and gold medal at the 2017 World Championships.
Kirsty Gilmour is a Scottish badminton player who has represented both Scotland and Great Britain.
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.
Huang Yaqiong is a Chinese badminton player who specializes in doubles. She is an Olympic gold medalist, three-time World Champion, two-time Asian Games gold medalist, and two-time Asian Champion. She also won a silver medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics. Huang is the current world number 1 in the mixed doubles with Zheng Siwei.
He Bingjiao is a Chinese badminton player. She won the silver medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics and 2019 Asian Championships. She also won the bronze medals at the 2018 and 2021 World Championships, 2017 and 2024 Asian Championships as well at the 2022 Asian Games. She was part of the Chinese winning team at the 2021 and 2023 Sudirman Cup, 2020 and 2024 Uber Cup, and also at the 2016 Asia Team Championships. In addition, she was the gold medalists in the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics.
There are 172 quota places available for qualification for badminton at the 2020 Summer Olympics. The Olympic qualification period took place between April 29, 2019 and April 25, 2021, and the Badminton World Federation rankings list, scheduled to publish on June 15, 2021, was 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.
The women's singles badminton tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place from 24 July to 1 August at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza at Tokyo. A total of 43 players from 37 nations competed.
The men's singles badminton tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics took place from 27 July to 5 August 2024 at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris. A total of 41 players from 36 nations competed at the tournament. Danish player Viktor Axelsen was the defending Olympic champion. He retained his Olympic title, only the second player in men's singles to do so after Lin Dan.
The men's doubles badminton tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics took place from 27 July to 4 August 2024 at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris. A total of 34 players from 15 nations competed at the tournament. Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin, who represented Chinese Taipei, were the defending Olympic champions. They successfully retained their Olympic title, becoming the first men's doubles pair to do so together and the first consecutive Olympic badminton champions not to represent the People's Republic of China.
The women's doubles badminton tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics took place from 27 July to 3 August at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris. There were 16 pairs from 13 nations competing. Indonesian pair Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu were defending Olympic champions, but Polii had since retired and Rahayu was eliminated in the group stage with her new partner.
The mixed doubles badminton tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics took place from 27 July to 2 August at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris. There were 15 pairs from 13 nations competing. Chinese pair Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping were defending Olympic champions, but Wang had since retired and Huang was eliminated in the quarter-finals with her new partner. Their compatriot, Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong, whom they defeated in the 2020 final, won the gold medal this time, eliminating Huang Dongping along the way.
