Australia’s badminton athletes have made an impression on the world stage coming into Paris 2024. Despite being small in numbers, the three-strong all-female team will be coached by the highly-regarded Leanne Choo.
Australia has a proud history in the sport, fielding a team at every Olympic competition since the sport's introduction in Barcelona 1992.
Overview
Facing powerhouse Asian teams of China, Japan and South Korea, the Aussie trio has forged a reputation on the world circuit. True to the Aussie spirit, the Australian badminton team is known for giving their all and getting results.
Tiffany Ho, ranked 80th in the world, qualified for singles after defeating her fellow Australian Yuelin Zhang in the Oceania Championships. Tiffany is also the reigning national women’s champion and represented Australia at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
In less than a year Australia’s women’s doubles pair, Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu, put the world on notice when they formed their dynamic partnership. The duo won their first three tournaments to secure their world ranking of 28.
The duo have had a busy lead into competition in Paris. They faced the world's fourth-ranked pair from Japan, emerged victorious in the 2024 Oceania Championships, and advanced to the 16th round of the All England Open.
Setyana is the only member of the Paris Team with Olympic experience, having competed at Tokyo 2020. However, both Tiffany and Angela have a wealth of international experience, having competed at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Coach Leanne Choo contributed to Australian badminton history by securing the nation’s best Olympic result of fifth in women’s doubles with former partner Renuga Veeran in London 2012.
“They are underdogs going in, however they definitely have a chance to advance out of the group stage,” Leanne said.
Ones to Watch
Internationals
South Korea’s An Se-Young is a player to watch. The World Badminton Federation named the 22-year-old the 2023 Female Athlete of the Year after she won the gold medal at the 2023 World Championships.
Expect 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei to battle for top honours, despite finishing behind the South Korean in the Paris qualification rankings.
Sport Format
There are five badminton events in the Olympic tournament. Each event follows the best-of-three format, with the winning team or player winning two games.
A loss in the Olympic tournament results in elimination from the medal competition. The exception is the semi-finals, where the two defeated players compete for the bronze medal.
If a player has a two-point advantage and reaches 21 points, they win the game. Should the scores finish at 20-all, the match continues until one player claims a two-point advantage. In the event of a 29-all tie, the winner is the player who secures the next point.
Competition will commence on Saturday 27 July.
