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Para badminton

Badminton made its debut at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Para badminton has been contested internationally since the 1990s, with the first Para-badminton World Championships taking place in the Netherlands in 1998. The first governing body for Para badminton was the International Badminton Association for Disabled (IBAD), which was founded on 17 June 1995 in Stoke Mandeville (England) as the organising body for disabled badminton at the international level. In 2011 the sport was brought under the governance of the Badminton World Federation. A milestone was achieved in 2019, with the Para Badminton World Championships held alongside the World Championships in Basel. Like its Olympic counterpart, para badminton is popular all over the world, with the game being played in over 60 countries worldwide. 

A total of 28 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) qualified players for the Paralympic Games in Tokyo where 14 medal events were contested. Players from 10 NPCs won medals with Asia dominating and China winning five gold medals. What will enthuse spectators at Paris 2024 is that Lucas Mazur from France won a gold and a silver medal in Tokyo.

Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, Krysten Coombs of Team Great Britain competes in the Badminton Men’s Singles SH6 semi-final © Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images

Paralympics Games Tokyo 2020, Faustine Noel and Lucas Mazur of Team France compete in the Badminton Mixed Doubles SL3-SU5 Gold Medal Match © Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images.

Paralympic Games 2020, Sarina Satomi and Yuma Yamazaki of Team Japan compete in the Badminton Women’s Doubles WH Gold Medal Match © Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images.

Brief overview of the rules 

Just like badminton, para badminton players compete in singles and paired events. The size of the court can be adapted for certain categories, such as wheelchair singles matches, where half the regular court is used. As for badminton, two winning games of 21 points wins the match.   

Players are divided into six classes – four standing and two wheelchair – depending on the degree of impairment.  

Eligible impairments 

Orthopaedic impairments, paraplegia, quadriplegia, hemiplegia, cerebral palsy, degenerative neurological disorders, neurological disabilities. 

Classification

  • Letter: WH (= Wheelchair) / (SL = Standing Lower) / SU (= Standing Upper) / SH (= Short stature)
  • Number: 1 and 2 = wheelchair users / 3 and 4 = athletes with a lower limb impairment or mild hemiplegia / 5 = arm impairment / 6 = athletes of short stature

Further information about paralympic classification

Events in 2024

The para badminton events will take place between the 29th of August and the 2nd of September.

There will be 120 players competing in Paris and 16 medal events, compared to 14 in Tokyo 2020.

  • Single WH1 (women’s-men’s)
  • Single WH2 (women’s-men’s)
  • Single SL3 (women’s-men’s)
  • Single SL4 (women’s-men’s)
  • Single SU5 (women’s-men’s)
  • Single SH6 (women’s-men’s)
  • Double WH1-2 (women’s-men’s)
  • Mixed double SL3-SU5
  • Mixed double SH6

Venue in 2024

Porte de la Chapelle Arena
The Porte de la Chapelle Arena is a brand-new major cultural hub in Paris, designed to host sports events and shows on a daily basis in the north of Paris, from 2023. This eco-design site is aligned with the needs of both this area and the City of Paris, and thought out for a legacy well beyond the Paris 2024 Games.
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International federation

Badminton World Federation (BWF)

© Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images

The pictogram