TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟), a Taiwanese badminton star set to compete in the Olympics, voiced his dissatisfaction with the Badminton World Federation (BWF, 世界羽聯) last Saturday (July 13) on social media, criticizing the BWF for a scoring error that unfairly affected players, noting the change from 16 to 17 groups in the tournament.
Wang and Lee Yang (李洋), who won Taiwan's first Olympic gold medal in badminton at the Tokyo Olympics in 2023, have secured their tickets to the Paris Olympics. The original plan for the men's doubles included 16 groups, but an error in calculating the points for French players Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar led to their successful appeal for a wildcard, making it 17 groups.
Initially, the 16 groups would have been divided into four groups, each containing one seeded pair and three unseeded pairs, with the top two from each group advancing to the quarterfinals. Due to the BWF's mistake, the addition of a 17th group may result in one group having five pairs, forcing them to play an extra match, which Wang believes is unfair.
The draw, originally scheduled for July 12, has been postponed due to the unexpected addition of the 17th pair, affecting the athletes' preparations. Wang expressed his frustration on Threads, hoping no further issues arise and that he can focus on defending their title at the Paris Olympics.
