Badminton at the Summer Olympics facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Badminton at the Summer Olympics |
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| Governing body | BWF |
| Events | 5 (men: 2; women: 2; mixed: 1) |
| Games | |
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Badminton is a fast-paced racket sport that became an official event at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Since then, it has been played in eight Olympic Games. Many countries have taken part in Olympic badminton, with 18 nations competing in every single one of these eight Games. The sport is managed by the Badminton World Federation.
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History of Olympic Badminton
Badminton first appeared at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, but it was just a demonstration sport. This means it was shown to the public but no medals were given out. Later, at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, badminton was an exhibition event. This was another step towards becoming an official sport.
Finally, badminton officially joined the Olympics at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. In these Games, there were four different events:
- Men's singles
- Men's doubles
- Women's singles
- Women's doubles
At first, four medals were given in each event, including two bronze medals. But at the next Olympics in 1996, a fifth event was added: mixed doubles. From 1996 onwards, only one bronze medal is awarded in each event. The two players or teams who lose in the semi-finals play against each other to decide who wins the bronze. This system has been used up to the 2020 Olympics.
Badminton Events at the Olympics
Here's a look at the different badminton events that have been part of the Olympics:
| Current Program | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | 72 | 76 | 80 | 84 | 88 | 92 | 96 | 00 | 04 | 08 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's singles | (d) | (e) | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||||||||||||||||||
| Men's doubles | (d) | (e) | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||||||||||||||||||
| Women's singles | (d) | (e) | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||||||||||||||||||
| Women's doubles | (e) | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Mixed doubles | (d) | (e) | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Events | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
Note: (d) means demonstration event (no medals), (e) means exhibition event (no medals), X means official medal event.
Olympic Badminton Medals
Many countries have won medals in Olympic badminton. Here's a summary of the total medals won by the most successful nations:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  China (CHN) |
20 | 12 | 15 | 47 |
| 2 |  Indonesia (INA) |
8 | 6 | 7 | 21 |
| 3 |  South Korea (KOR) |
6 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| 4 |  Denmark (DEN) |
2 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| 5 |  Japan (JPN) |
1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 6 |  Chinese Taipei (TPE) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 |  Spain (ESP) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 |  Malaysia (MAS) |
0 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| 9 |  Great Britain (GBR) |
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
 India (IND) |
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 11 |  Netherlands (NED) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 |  Russia (RUS) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (12 entries) | 39 | 39 | 43 | 121 | |
Top Badminton Teams
After the 2020 Summer Olympics, China has been the most successful country in Olympic badminton. They even managed to win all the gold medals in badminton at the 2012 Summer Olympics! Indonesia is the second most successful country. China and Indonesia are the only countries that have won gold medals in every type of badminton event (men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles).
How Athletes Qualify for the Olympics
To play badminton at the Olympics, athletes must qualify based on their rankings from the Badminton World Federation. For singles events, 29 players are chosen. For doubles, 19 pairs are selected.
Generally, the best-ranked players and pairs get to go. The top 16 players or pairs on the ranking list usually qualify. However, each country (National Olympic Committee) can only send a maximum of three players or pairs. Players and pairs ranked up to 64th can also qualify, but each country can only send two players or pairs from this group. If a country doesn't have any players in these top groups, their highest-ranked player might still qualify.
Also, one spot in each singles event is given out by a special group called the Tripartite Commission. This helps make sure that athletes from smaller nations also get a chance to compete. Every continent must have at least one player or pair. The host nation (the country holding the Olympics) also gets two spots if they haven't already qualified enough players.
How Badminton is Played at the Olympics
Olympic badminton tournaments have two main parts:
- Group Stage: Players or pairs are put into small groups. They play against everyone else in their group.
- Single-Elimination Tournament: The best players or pairs from the group stage move on to this knockout round. If you lose a match here, you're out of the competition.
Each match is played as the best of three games. To win a game, a player or pair needs to score 21 points. Badminton uses "rally scoring," which means you can score a point whether you served the shuttlecock or not. To win a game, you must win by at least two points. If the score reaches 20-20, play continues until one side has a two-point lead (e.g., 22-20, 23-21). However, if the score reaches 29-29, the first player or pair to reach 30 points wins the game.
Participating Nations
A total of 74 different nations have taken part in the Olympic badminton competitions. Some countries have participated in every Olympic badminton event since its official debut in 1992.
See also
In Spanish: Bádminton en los Juegos Olímpicos para niños
- Badminton at the Summer Paralympics
- List of Olympic venues in badminton
