Investment pays off as Western badminton players improve on biggest stage

PARIS – China and South Korea are having to fight much harder in badminton in Paris than at the Tokyo Games three years ago, as the Asian powerhouses face a tougher challenge from Europeans, Latin Americans and North Americans than they have in the past.

Badminton has been mostly dominated by Asian countries, particularly China, since it became an Olympic sport in 1992. Only seven teams have ever won gold medals at the Games – China, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, and the non-Asian nations of Denmark and Spain.

But the sport has become more lucrative over the past decade and investment in its infrastructure from national and global badminton organisations has helped attract and develop players in other parts of the world.

In 2023, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) reported a total gross income of US$43.1 million (S$57.9 million), up substantially from the US$12.5 million it posted in 2013.

“You need natural resources (to develop players), which require good coaches, education, experience, development, facilities, sports science knowledge,” said Thomas Lund, a Danish former Olympian and mixed doubles world champion, and secretary-general of the BWF.

He added that to develop systems that breed good players takes more than a decade, pointing out that the change has been gradual, with players from Asian countries like India, Japan and Singapore only over the last decade or so joining China, Indonesia and South Korea on the podium.

In Tokyo, there were three upsets in the first three days of the Olympics that involved an Asian country losing to a non-Asian country – when Israel’s Misha Zilberman beat India’s Sai Praneeth in the men’s singles, when Germany’s Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Lohau beat a Malaysia mixed doubles pair, and when Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith beat a Thai mixed doubles duo.

On the first day of play in Paris, Bulgarian women’s doubles world No. 22 pair, the Stoeva sisters Gabriela and Stefani, defeated Hong Kong’s world No. 18 duo Yeung Nga-ting and Yeung Pui-lam.

In addition, where in Tokyo many of the Asian victories were clear-cut, there have been several near-upsets in Paris.

Despite ultimately losing, Britain’s Ben Lane and Sean Vendy put up a tough fight against Malaysia’s world No. 3 Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the men’s doubles, as did France’s Margot Lambert and Anne Tran against Thailand’s world No. 9 Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai in the women’s doubles.

Germany’s Yvonne Li also held her own against reigning Olympic champion China’s Chen Yufei in the women’s singles before bowing out. Another close call was when the United States’ Xu twins Annie and Kerry lost after three games in the women’s doubles against Hong Kong’s Yeungs.

In some cases, players from non-Asian teams, except Denmark, came to within a hair’s breadth of victory in one of two games in a match, including men’s singles player Kevin Cordon of Guatemala. REUTERS