June 24
According to figures released by the World Badminton Federation on 15 June, Myanmar badminton star player Thet Htar Thuzar is ranked 29th in the women’s individual category to advance to the Tokyo Olympics.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) will approve the qualifiers for the Olympics and will allow 38 athletes to compete in the individual event and thus Thet Htar is in good condition to enter the Olympics.
According to the rules of the tournament, 34 players will be selected according to the rankings. Of the remaining four, one will be a host from Japan and three from the Asian Olympic Council.
Once the BWF has selected the four athletes, they will be sent to the relevant Olympic Committees for approval of the Tokyo Olympics.
According to the BWF, those with a rating of 1 to 16 must have a maximum of two candidates per country. Starting from 17th place, only one player per country will be allowed to compete, and thus some players outside of 34th place can expect it, BWF officials said.
The BWF had previously set a time limit for the Olympics from April 2019 to May 2020, but the Olympics were postponed due to the pandemic situation. The BWF has extended the qualifiers period from 4 January to 13 June this year, but most competitions have been cancelled due to the epidemic.
Therefore, the BWF will determine the qualifying criteria for the Olympics based on the results of the competitions from April 2019 to March 2020. The results are calculated from some of the competitions held this year.
If Thet Htar Thuzar qualifies for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, it would be the very first Myanmar badminton player to enter the Olympic tourney. — GNLM
