KUALA LUMPUR – While the draws for all four badminton events at the Paris Olympic Games have been finalised, the men’s doubles line-up is facing delays following the last-minute addition of an extra pair.
French men’s doubles pair Ronan Labar and Lucas Corvee will compete at the Paris Olympics after winning their case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) due to a miscalculation error by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Initially in a strong position to qualify based on the ‘Race to Paris’ ranking, Ronan and Corvee were unexpectedly demoted due to an error in calculation by the BWF, allowing the Popov brothers to surpass their ranking.
Consequently, the court directed the BWF to request the International Olympic Committee to include Ronan and Corvee, making them the 17th pair at the Paris Olympics, which means the host country now has two representatives.
“Following the Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing and ongoing communication between the Badminton World Federation and the International Olympic Committee regarding the technicalities of entries in men’s doubles, the BWF will conduct the men’s doubles draw on a date yet to be confirmed,” said BWF events director Selvaam Supramaniam before today’s draw.
This decision has stirred discontent among fans, particularly as it meant that several potential players like Liu Yuchen-Ou Xuanyi (China), Muhammad Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana (Indonesia), and Malaysia’s Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi missed out on qualifying for Paris.
According to the original BWF regulations, doubles events at the Olympic Games are limited to only 16 pairs, and countries can send two representatives if they rank within the top eight in the ‘Race to Paris’ standings.
Currently, everyone is eagerly awaiting the group format for the men’s doubles event at the Olympics, whether these 17 pairs will be divided into five groups, with two groups possibly containing four pairs or whether the BWF will maintain the existing format of four groups, but one group may have up to five pairs.
Fans also expressed dissatisfaction with the way the draws were conducted for other events organised by the BWF today.
For instance, former Danish elite coach and BWF commentator Steen Pedersen expressed bewilderment when players like Anders Antonsen, drawn with two others in Group E, will receive a bye in the next round, whereas Jonatan Christie, drawn with three others in Group L, would not receive a bye if he advances to the next round.
“Jonatan Christie and Lakhsya Sen are in the same group. I don’t quite understand that the other 3-4 seed Antonsen (4) gets a 3-Group and a bye whilst Christie(3) gets 4-group and no bye. I understand that it’s according to the rules, but it’s counterintuitive to me,” said Pederson on his X account.
Indonesian sports journalist A. Ainur Rohman also raised concerns about the BWF’s approach to dividing players for the women’s doubles event draw, especially in Group A, dubbed the “group of death”, which features three women’s pairs ranked top 10 in the world.
Group A features world number one Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan from China, Japan’s sixth-ranked Wakana Nagahara-Mayu Matsumoto, along with Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti, who are ninth in the world rankings. Also in the group are Malaysia’s Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah, ranked 13th globally.
“This is the result of BWF not using a seeding separation system in its draw. In Group A, there are 3 pairs ranked in the top 10 in the world, plus 1 pair at position 13.
“Meanwhile, in Group B, aside from Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning (ranked 3 in the world), the rest are ranked 18, 22, and 30 in the world. It’s truly a mismatch,” said Ainur.
The badminton tournaments at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris will be held from July 27 to August 5 at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena. – July 12, 2024