U.S. Badminton Olympians Make Their Debut at Paris 2024

Just one day after the Opening Ceremony of Paris 2024, badminton play began at the Arena Porte de la Chapelle on Saturday, July 27, 2024. All five of the U.S. first-time Olympians made their debut on court in Group Play. 

In Mixed Doubles, Vinson Chiu and Jennie Gai began play in Group D against China’s No. 2 seed Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping as the first match on Court 1. It was a daunting task to play against the reigning Mixed Doubles Olympic champions in their first match but Chiu and Gai rose to the challenge as they battled for 45 minutes against the Chinese pair. They played out some tough and impressive rallies but would fall 11-21 and 14-21. 

In Women’s Doubles, the twins Annie Xu and Kerry Xu began play in Group B against China’s Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning. The No. 3 seeded China pair posed a challenge for the U.S. twins as they lost 11-21 in the first game. However they were able to gain confidence in the second game to pull a little closer despite falling 14-21.

In Women’s Singles, Beiwen Zhang made her Olympic return with a match against Australia’s Tiffany Ho in Group K. The two-time Olympian was off to a strong start early in the first game, sending the Australian diving for points en route to a 6-0 lead. She maintained the momentum to the end of the game, quietly handling business amid loud cheers for France playing on the next court as she won 21-9. Zhang had an even more impressive start to the second game, displaying strong crosscourt smashes and pulling away to lead 11-1 at the interval. She would win 21-4, at one point pulling off 12 consecutive points.

In Men’s Doubles, Vinson Chiu and Joshua Yuan faced Denmark’s No. 2 seed Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen to begin play in Group D. Chiu and Yuan kept pace early against the Danish pair but would lose the first game 13-21. The two Americans bounced back early in the second game to lead at the interval as they put together strong rallies backed by cheers and chants from the crowd.

Play continues on the second day of Group Play on Sunday, July 28. See below for upcoming matches or see here for the full schedule.