Paris Olympics badminton: meet the future stars

Who are the young rising badminton stars at the Olympics in Paris?

Paris Olympics badminton is the premier event in the badminton 2024 calendar. So it is understandable that everyone is watching out for the top players. But for true badminton fans, the Olympics is also a chance to get a glimpse of future badminton stars!

Young players under the age of 22, who earned their place at the Olympics, get an early taste of the top level of badminton, possibly setting them on a trajectory of greatness! This is what excites many avid badminton fans.

Through the years we have seen many future champions compete on the Olympic stage before confirming their legendary status.

You might recall Fu Haifeng competing at the 2004 Athens Olympics with Cai Yun, Saina Nehwal making her Olympic debut at 18 in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, PV Sindhu winning her Silver medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics at only 21 years old and An Se Young was 19 at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics – she will only be 22 when she competes in Paris!

> See the Paris Olympic 2024 badminton draws here

So which future badminton stars will participate in the Paris Olympics?

The doubles categories are generally won and dominated by more experienced pairs. This might also be the case at the Paris Olympics. Tactical understanding and skill seem to be a much larger factor in doubles than it is in the singles categories. When paired with the smaller draw for doubles than singles, it doesn’t leave much room for younger competitors.

Men’s Doubles talent at the Paris Olympics

Joshua Yuan of the United States of America will compete with partner Vinson Chiu in men’s doubles at the age of 21. Part of the increasingly competitive US contingent of players, this pair will hope to do some damage in the group of 5 (Group D). With two runner-up places and one semi-final finish at the PanAm championships, the pair have a lot to prove against the higher-ranked opposition.

Could they make a statement for the coming wave of American players?

Womens doubles – young promising Olympians at Paris

Angela Yu debuts at her first Olympic Games for Australia at 21 partnering with Setyana Mapasa. They qualified for the Paris Olympics in 16th position ranked 32 in the world. They secured their Olympic spot through a protected continental representative place.

The pair have had a successful qualification taking 4 titles along the way with a runner-up place and four semi-final finishes on the BWF Tour. They will hope their title-winning ability will see them through to the quarterfinals, but with strong competition in Group C, it will be tough.

Tanisha Crasto debuts at the Olympics in Paris with Veteran partner Ashwini Ponnappa at 21 years old. The Indian pair had a tough qualification beating out Indian favourites Gopichand and Jolly. They qualify in 13th place with a world ranking of 21.

The Indian women’s doubles pair beat all expectations clinching 3 titles and a further 2 runners-up spots. They produced great results beating some of the top-ranked doubles players which will serve them well in Paris. Crasto/Ponnappa have been drawn in group C, which we predict will be a tricky group for all involved.

LIU Sheng Shu & TAN Ning are part of the new wave of Chinese badminton players. They will be 20 and 21 at the games. Already ranked 3rd in the world with some extremely impressive results. They made 7 finals during qualification, all in top-level Super Series competitions, showing they already have an elite level of play and mentality.

Liu/Tan are drawn in group B, which statistically should be the easiest group for them to escape from with the 11th, 12th, and 15th qualified pairs in their group. The path looks promising for them to start an era of dominance with an Olympic title.

Mixed Doubles at the Olympics in Paris

Women’s singles at the Paris Olympics badminton competition

Kaloyana Nalbantova will be 18 when she competes at the Paris Olympics for Bulgaria, home of the Stoeva sisters. She qualified in 33rd place with a world ranking of 76! In qualifying she was able to gain lots of ranking points at the European championships, the Abu Dhabi Masters Super 100, and the Irish Open! She faces An Se Young and Qi Xuifei of France in group A.

Polina Buhrova represents Ukraine at 20 years old in Paris! Now training and living in Italy she will be hoping to make her country proud. She qualified in 31st place with a world rank of 74. Her top results from qualifying came with two semi-final finishes in the Swedish IS and Mexico IC. She will need to get past Gregoria Tunjung of Indonesia and fellow European Tereza Svabikova!

Keisha Fatimah AZZAHRA of Azerbaijan has qualified in 30th place with a world rank of 71. The 21-year-old won a title at the Cameroon International backed up with numerous semi-final finishes at IC level to clinch her place in Paris. She will compete with experienced players He Bingjiao and Kirsty Gilmour to progress.

Juliana Viana VIEIRA of Brazil qualified in 25th place with a world rank of 47. The 20-year-old has had a breakout year getting to the second round of the World Championships, reaching the quarter-final of the PanAm championships as well as clinching an IS and IC title. A strong up-and-coming player from South America, she will need to beat Supanida Katethong and Lo Sin Yan Happy, a good draw for her.

LO Sin Yan Happy of Hong Kong will be 21 at the Paris Games. She qualified 24th ranked 46th in the world. Lo’s breakout year had some great highlights. She took the title in the Iran Internationa Challenge with second place at the Odisha Masters and 4 semi-final finishes to support her qualification. Drawn against Juliana Vieira and Supinda Katethong, Lo will be positive about her chances of progressing in a tight group.

“An honorable mention for An Se Young who will be 22 in Paris but ranked number 1. An incredible accomplishment for a shuttler who still has so much badminton ahead of her.”

Men‘s Singles

Viren Nettasinghe of Sri Lanka will compete in his first Olympics, at the age of 21, after qualifying in 32nd place at 72 on the world rankings. He chose to mainly compete in the IC level competitions during qualification performing well with good consistency. Viren will compete in Group G against Pablo Abian and Lee Zi Jia.

Which of these young hot shots will break through and become world beaters? Let us know in the comments.