Badminton highlighted at Paris Olympics opening ceremony!

A disappointing Olympic opening ceremony but positive for badminton!

The Olympics is the most celebrated event in the Badminton calendar, as it is for many sports. We saw the Paris 2024 opening ceremony which by most accounts was a bore in the rain. However, there were some highlights for badminton with 8 badminton flag bearers highlighted with one wearing a splendid outfit you don’t want to miss!

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Opening ceremony flag bearers…

Kevin Cordon

led the GUATEMALAN team. The experienced Cordon was the surprise of Tokyo 2020 when He reached the Bronze medal playoff! An incredible result for a player many expected to lose in the group stage. Can he repeat that in Paris? It’s likely his last Olympics and is in the group of death with Lakshya Sen, Jonatan Christie, and Julien Carraggi.

Kevin Cordon was one of the players we highlighted in our ‘likely to retire’ opinion after the Olympics.

P.V Sindhu

P.V Sindhu, a certified superstar in INDIA, waved their flag at the front of their Parisian barge. No doubt India has high hopes for PV Sindhu following silver and Bronze medals in the past two Olympics. Can she break the curse on India and claim their first Badminton Gold?

What are India’s chances of medals in Paris? read our thoughts here…

Thuzar That Htar

Myanmar chose Thuzar Thet Htar to lead their team of two in the opening ceremony. She is ranked 43 in the world and managed to reach a career-high ranking of 40 during qualification. Can she carry her momentum into the competition where she needs to beat Michelle Li and Akane Yamaguchi?

Viren Nettasinghe

The Sri Lankan team flag bearer for their team of 6 athletes. Viren is ranked 70th in the world and starts his Olympic campaign on Sun 28th vs Lee Zi Jia!

Tai Tzu Ying

Did you recognise the Chinese Taipei flag bearer? Tai Tzu Ying is now an experienced Olympian with a silver from Tokyo. Tai Tzu Ying is out of form which could be a problem for her, but her high level has been proven many times. Taiwan will hope that she can find some momentum in the group stages to claim another medal!

Le Duc Phat

Vietnamese Badminton player Lê Đức Phát was chosen as their flag bearer. He has a world ranking of 71 and competes regularly at IC and 100 level with good results. He is in group K with HS Prannoy and Fabian Roth.

Anu Opeyori

Now the one you have waited for! Nigeria has chosen African badminton star Anuoluwapo Juwon Opeyori as the team captain and flag bearer for the opening ceremony. The top-ranked African badminton player and the current African Games and All-Africa champion. Anuoluwapo will be aiming to be the first African ever to progress from the group stage of the Olympic badminton event. Plus he had an amazing outfit!

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