Could this finally be the year for Team USA in badminton?
The Americans have been shut out from the podium at each of the eight Olympic Games where badminton was featured. It's one of the few sports Team USA has never medaled in.
The furthest Team USA has ever gone in any Olympic badminton competition was the men's doubles quarterfinals at the 2008 Beijing Games.
The U.S. will have seven athletes vying to capture the country's first ever Olympic title at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Beiwen Zhang, who suffered a competition-ending ruptured Achilles in Round of 16 at the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Games, will compete in women's singles for a second straight Olympics. Howard Shu, meanwhile, will make his return to the Games in men's singles after debuting at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
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The five other Team USA athletes will be debuting at the Olympics in doubles competitions: Twin sisters Annie Xu and Kerry Xu in women's doubles, Vinson Chiu and Joshua Yuan in men's doubles, and Vinson Chiu and Jennie Gai in mixed doubles.
As Team USA looks to finally end its badminton medal drought, here's what to know about the racket sport:
How long has badminton been an Olympic sport?
Badminton made its debut at the 1992 Barcelona Games, and the sport has been featured at every Olympics since.
What equipment is used in badminton?
Players use a racket to hit a birdie, or shuttlecock, over a net that is 5-feet tall at the center and an inch taller at each post.
How long is a badminton court?
The length of a badminton court is 44 feet across all competitions, but the width is different for singles versus doubles. Singles matches are played on a court that's 17-feet wide.
The court is extended to 20 feet for doubles matches.
What are the rules of badminton?
Badminton players hit the birdie back and forth over the net until one side is unable to successfully return it. The birdie is allowed to hit the net on its way over, but it can't pass through or under the net. Each side is allowed to just hit the birdie once to get it over the net.
Reaching over the net to hit the birdie isn't allowed and contacting the net with your body or racket results in a point for the opposing side.
A serving player must hit the birdie below their waist and land it diagonally into the opponent's service court. Players serve from and receive in their respective right-hand service courts when the server’s score is zero or an even number. The serve is from the left-hand service court to the left-hand return court when the server has an odd number of points.
How does scoring work in badminton?
Badminton features a rally points scoring system where whichever side wins a rally earns both a point and the next serve. So a side doesn't need to serve in order to earn a point.
Matches have a best-of-three format with games to 21 points. An advantage of at least two points is needed for a game to end unless it reaches a 29-29 tie. In the event of a 29-29 tie, whichever side earns the next point is the winner.
How fast can badminton players hit a birdie?
Faster than a fastball from MLB's top flamethrowers. Way faster.
Olympians can hit a birdie in the range of 150 mph to over 200 mph. That makes badminton the world's fastest racket sport.
How many badminton events are there at the 2024 Olympics?
Badminton at the Olympics features two singles events (men's and women's) and three doubles events (men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles).
What is the badminton schedule at the 2024 Olympics?
Badminton will run from Saturday, July 27 to Monday, Aug. 5. The sport's first medals will be awarded on Friday, Aug. 2, when the mixed doubles medal matches are scheduled.
The women's doubles medal matches take place Saturday, Aug. 3 followed by the men's doubles medal matches on Sunday, Aug. 4. The competition concludes with the men's and women's singles medal matches on Aug. 5.
Check out NBCOlympics.com for a detailed badminton schedule.
Where will badminton be played at the 2024 Olympics?
Porte de La Chapelle Arena in northern Paris will host the badminton competitions.
Who won gold in badminton at the last Olympics?
Here's a look at the gold medalists in badminton from the Tokyo Olympics:
Men's singles: Viktor Axelsen, Denmark
Women's singles: Chen Yu Fei, China
Men's doubles: Wang Chi-lin and Lee Yang, Chinese Taipei
Women's doubles: Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu, Indonesia
Mixed doubles: Wang Yi Lyu and Huang Dong Ping, China
Which country has won the most Olympic badminton medals?
China has dominated badminton at the Olympics, winning 20 of the sport's 39 gold medals overall. China's 47 combined medals are more than double the next-closest country of Indonesia, which owns 21 medals.
South Korea is the only other country that has double-figure badminton medals with 20.
