Badminton qualification for Paris 2024 explained: Which Indians are in Olympic fray and how does process work? | Badminton News

As the 2024 badminton season is here, Indian shuttlers resume their Paris 2024 qualification quests. The first major event of the year is in Kuala Lumpur from Tuesday – the Malaysia Open Super 1000 – and that will be followed the India Open Super 750 in New Delhi the week after. Here’s a look at how qualification to Paris works and how the Indian contingent is placed at the start of the year.
How do players qualify for the Olympics?
A total of 172 players across the five categories – men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles – will compete at the Olympics.
A maximum of 8 men and 8 women can qualify per NOC. The ‘Race to Paris’ ranking ls as of 30 April 2024 will be used to allocate the athletes’ quota places and each l will be based on results achieved during the period 1 May 2023 to 28 April 2024. In singles, 38 shuttlers each will qualify while the doubles categories will see 16 pairs each take to the courts from 27 July to 5 August 2024.
Players win ranking points playing in tournaments that are graded the BWF. While athletes can play in any number of tournaments, the ranking includes up to 10 events with the highest points earned over the last 52 weeks. So, if a player has participated in 15 events in the period, the lowest-scoring five will be left out.
Can more than one player or pair qualify in a category?
Yes, but only if they are placed high enough in the ranking ls. In singles, 2 athletes can represent India if they are both in the top 16 of the Race to Paris l at the end, while in doubles 2 pairs can qualify only if they are both in the top 8. While India continued their streak of winning a medal in each of the last three Games thanks to Sindhu in Tokyo, the qualification process saw only 2 singles players (Sindhu and B Sai Praneeth) and 1 pair in Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty make the cut in 2021.
Who are the Indians currently in qualification positions for singles?
In men’s singles, HS Prannoy is placed well thanks to a memorable 2023 season. He is currently 8th in the race and should he remain fit, the former Youth Olympics bronze medall seems set to qualify for his first appearance at the Summer Games.
If India have any chance of getting two quotas in one category, it is in men’s singles as Lakshya Sen – despite his indifferent year – is currently placed 17th. With a few first-round exits still accounting for his tally of points, Lakshya can climb the ladder if he makes a deep run in a few tournaments. Srikanth is not far behind Lakshya at 24th but will need a massive turnaround in form to move into the top 16.
In women’s singles, PV Sindhu remains the frontrunner at 12th despite not having the best of years last time around. The gulf between her and the next highest-placed Indian is massive (Aakarshi Kashyap at 39th) that the star shuttler could afford to miss the start of this year without the pressure of amassing more points. After a move to Bengaluru to work with Prakash Padukone, Sindhu is expected to return from her injury break in February.
How is it looking for doubles?
Satwik-Chirag are in pole position to make it to back-to-back Olympics, currently placed 5th in the l. But elsewhere in men’s doubles, 2023 was a lukewarm season and there are no other Indian pairs in the top 60.
In mixed doubles – a problem category for Indian badminton for a while now – there are no Indian pairs in the 16 positions as of now as all are outside the top 50. With the mixing and matching of partners late last year, it appears likely that V Diju and Jwala Gutta’s appearance in London 2012 will remain the last time an Indian pair qualified in this category.
In women’s doubles though, things have gotten interesting. After a strong finish to 2023, Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto have leapfrogged Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly, and currently occupy the 21st place which is good enough to make the cut as things stand (14th qualification spot). Gayatri and Treesa will lose further ground as they are not competing in Malaysia while Tanisha and Ashwini are ranked high enough now to get main draw entries and further their chances.
What to expect at the Malaysia Open?
As one of the two Super 1000 events this year that fall under the qualification cycle, there are plenty of points at stake for Indian shuttlers looking to kickstart their hopes to reach Paris. As mentioned above, Lakshya, Srikanth and Tanisha-Ashwini would be hoping to make their moves, but the draw hasn’t been kind.
Sen has to overcome the mercurial Weng Hong Yang in the opening round, with a potential second-round looming against Li Shi Feng, while Srikanth is up against sixth seed Jonatan Chrie of Indonesia. Ashwini and Tanisha have a tricky but winnable opening round against Allison Lee and Francesca Corbett of USA, the world junior silver medalls last year.
Prannoy and Satwik-Chirag, seeded 8th and 2nd in their categories, are likely to headline India’s challenge with deep runs but also have to overcome tough opponents in the first round. Prannoy faces off against Denmark’s Anders Antonsen while Chirag-Satwik take on Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana from Indonesia.