When to watch badminton during the 2024 Paris Olympics

Though the exact origins of badminton are unknown, the sport has developed over time on the global scale and holds widespread appeal for people of all ages and skillsets. 

Badminton is played indoors by either two opposing players (singles) or two pairs (doubles), who take positions on opposite halves of a court that is divided by a net. 

Badminton has a unique history at the Olympic level. It made its debut as a demonstration sport at the 1972 Munich Games before becoming an exhibition sport at the 1988 Seoul Games. Badminton did not make its official debut at the Olympic level until at the 1992 Barcelona Games with four medal categories: men's and women's singles, and men's and women's doubles. Mixed doubles was added as an event at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Asia has traditionally dominated the sport's history at the Olympic level, while European players have also been featured on the podium throughout the eight editions of the Games. 

There will be five badminton events across the men's and women's tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics: singles (women's/men's) and doubles (women's/men's/mixed).

The U.S. has yet to win a badminton medal on the Olympic stage. The badminton tournament at the 2024 Paris Games will take place between July 27 - August 5.

Three Californians will represent Team USA in men's badminton at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Howard Shu of Anaheim is the lone male in the single's draw, his second Olympic appearance along with Rio in 2016. An American man has not won a badminton match at an Olympic Games since Kevin Han in Sydney 2000. 

In doubles, Vinson Chiu of Newport Beach and Joshua Yuan of Foster City have teamed up and are looking to be the first American men's partnership to win a badminton match since Howard Bach and Bob Malaythong went to the Quarterfinals in Beijing 2008. 

The best chance for the U.S. to take home its first ever medal in badminton comes in women's singles, where Beiwen Zhang of Las Vegas will look to get onto the podium. Zheng was winning her Round of 16 match in Tokyo when she blew out her Achilles and had to withdraw. On the two year anniversary of her injury she took home the 2023 Australian Open, one of three titles she won last year. She is still a longshot for a medal, but a run into the knockout rounds is not out of the question. 

Identical twin sisters, Kerry and Annie Xu, will represent the stars and stripes in the women's doubles draw. The San Jose natives took Big Four auditing jobs after college, but left those gigs in 2022 to pursue their dreams of making the Olymics in Badminton. Now here they are, after using scholarship money, savings from their jobs and even a Go Fund Me to help them find a way to the 2024 Paris Olympics. They are not a contender for a medal, but could become the first American women's duo to win a badminton match at an Olympic Games. 

Venues

The badminton tournament will take place at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena. This new arena is designed to leave a lasting impact after the Games as it caters to the needs of local residents. This arena will also accommodate 8,000 people for basketball games and 9,000 people for concerts.

Porte de La Chapelle will sport an eco-friendly design as 80% of the building will be covered in greenery to blend in with its surroundings. The multi-purpose venue at Porte de la Chapelle will kickstart the redevelopment work across the capital's 18th arrondissement.

The modular design of the arena will be utilized during the Games as the venue is set to host two different sports one after the other during both the Olympics (badminton and rhythmic gymnastics) and Paralympics (para badminton and para powerlifting events). 

Badminton venue rendering at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Paris 2024