Kuala Lumpur: The Badminton World Federation (BWF) made a significant error by miscalculating the qualifying rankings for the French men’s doubles pair, Ronan Labar and Lucas Corvee, for the 2024 Paris Games. This mistake caused a considerable stir within the badminton community, especially among the men’s doubles pairs who had already secured their spots for the 2024 Paris Games. The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) was particularly affected, as this miscalculation potentially impacted their opportunity to have two pairs qualify for the Paris Games instead of just one.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-Lin took to his personal account on Threads, expressing his dissatisfaction towards BWF in the post below:
“Why is the points miscalculation my problem? Handle the mess you made yourself 🙄🙄. Originally 16 pairs, now 17 pairs, and the group that has to play extra matches just has to accept it? The draw is delayed too? Seriously, how much more incompetent can you get 😂. The photo looks great though 😍.”
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) has called on the BWF to take responsibility for the significant error in calculating the qualifying points for the 2024 Olympics.
PBSI Secretary General Fadil Imran stated that this mistake violated Olympic rules and the sport’s integrity. The error not only disadvantaged the Indonesian pair Bagas Maulana/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri but also affected all pairs competing for a spot in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Due to this miscalculation, the French men’s doubles pair Ronan Labar/Lucas Corvee, who initially did not qualify, were given a spot in the Olympics after winning an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). This inclusion increased the number of men’s doubles pairs to 17, complicating the group draw process and potentially causing an unfair disadvantage to teams like Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto, who now could potentially face additional matches in the group stage.
The error also negatively impacted Bagas Maulana/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri, as they were incorrectly seeded during the 2024 Badminton Asia Championships, leading to early elimination and narrowly missing the qualification for the Paris Olympics.
PBSI demands that BWF address and rectify these issues to ensure fair play and uphold the sport’s standards.
