The Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings are used to determine the qualification of the players for the tournament. Nations can enter a maximum of two players each in the men's and women's singles if both are ranked in the world's top 16; otherwise, one quota place until the roster of thirty-eight players has been completed. Similar regulations also apply to the players competing in the doubles, as the NOCs (National Olympic Committees) can enter a maximum of two pairs if both are ranked in the top eight, while the remaining NOCs are entitled to one until the quota of 16 highest-ranked pairs is filled. The host nation, if it has not already qualified two competitors, receives at least either two singles players or one pair.[3]
As of the 2020 Summer Olympics, China has been the most successful nation in badminton, winning 47 medals; 33 of them were from the women's singles and doubles and mixed doubles tournaments. Indonesia (21 medals) and South Korea (20 medals) are the only other nations to have more than nine medals. As many as 121 medals (39 gold, 39 silver, and 43 bronze) have been awarded to 153 medalists from 12 NOCs.[9] There were four additional bronze medal winners in the 1992 Summer Olympics because no bronze medal matches were played in any of the four tournaments.[10]