OlympicTalk · Jun 21, 2021
First badminton player named to U.S. Olympic team for Tokyo
Beiwen Zhang is the first badminton player named to the U.S. Olympic team for Tokyo.
Zhang, the world’s 14th-ranked player who grew up in China and moved to the U.S. in 2013, is the first of whom USA Badminton hopes is multiple players on the team.
More invitations could be sent out to nations based on which National Olympic Committees accept spots by June 25.
The U.S. had seven badminton players for the 2016 Rio Games — one entry each in men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles — with a best finish of tied for ninth.
The U.S. has never earned an Olympic medal in badminton, which debuted at the 1992 Barcelona Games.