Tokyo will stage the Olympic and Paralympic Games for the second occasion, with the previous time being in 1964. Tokyo 2020 will be a special edition with Para badminton making its debut at the Paralympic Games.

Badminton Competition Musashino Forest Sport Plaza 25 July – 3 August 2020 Qualification Period 29 April 2019 – 26 April 2020 172 athletes 86 men / 86 women 5 medal events 10 days of competition

Para badminton Competition Yoyogi National Stadium 2 – 6 September 2020 Qualification Period 1 January 2019 – 29 March 2020 90 athletes 46 men / 44 women 14 medal events 5 days of competition

In 2018, BWF finalised the last of the regulations related to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games qualification process. The ‘Road to Tokyo’ began in 2018, with all important world ranking tournaments a prime opportunity for athletes to position themselves for the start of the qualification period.

The Daihatsu Yonex Japan Open 2018 was also staged at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic badminton venue – Musashino Forest Sport Plaza – with local hero Kento Momota adding to his TOTAL BWF World Championships crown he secured a month earlier.

Overall, it was a successful year for Japan, with their women winning their first World Women’s Team Championships in 37 years, as the host nation builds towards a strong showing at Tokyo 2020.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved BWF’s qualification criteria for participants of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, with Monday 29 April 2019 marking the start of the qualification period which runs until Sunday 26 April 2020.

The BWF ranking lists of Thursday 30 April 2020 will be used to determine the qualifiers.

All athletes must have played in a minimum of three tournaments in their respective category counting towards the world ranking lists during the Olympic qualifying period and be registered in the world ranking lists of 30 April 2020.

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

The past year saw some major announcements regarding Para badminton’s debut at the Paralympics.

A total of 90 Para badminton players – 46 male and 44 female – will head to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, competing in 14 medal events: seven for males, six for females, and one mixed category (SL 3 – SU 5 Mixed Doubles).

Para badminton qualifying began on 1 January 2019, with athletes having until 29 March 2020 to book their places for the historic showpiece.

The Japan Para badminton International 2019 in November 2019 will be the official test event with the competition hosted in the Para badminton Competition venue Yoyogi National Stadium.