“An unacceptable error” from the International Badminton Federation (BWF), which “spoils the joy of French badminton”. Less than four months before the start of the Olympic badminton events, the French Badminton Federation (FFBaD) demanded the “exceptional qualification” of the pair Lucas Corvée and Ronan Labar, deprived of the Olympic Games after a surprise modification and “without prior consultation » rankings by the BWF.
In a press release published on Wednesday April 24, the FFBaD blamed “an unexpected modification of the rankings following a calculation error dating back to May 2023” by the international federation. According to the FFBaD, this modification had the effect of reversing the places of the two French pairs in the race: the pair Lucas Corvée and Ronan Labar and the fraternal duo Christo Popov and Toma Junior Popov. “The first, who were in the lead at the end of the European badminton championships, now find themselves second at 29 points,” explains the FFBaD.
In a press release published on April 19, the international federation apologized for a calculation error that forced it to review its rankings, without however providing any compensatory measure for the French pair. “Faced with the amateurism of the management of this ranking and the scandalous approach of the BWF to modify an allocation of points a year later, the FFBaD has chosen to lead the fight alongside its players,” reacts the French federation.
“We thought we had a good enough points lead.”
Lucas Corvée and Ronan Labar do not dispute the legitimacy of the correction of the ranking, launched a year late by the international federation. “The problem is that we based all our preparation, the choice of our competitions, on this erroneous ranking. We even canceled our participation in certain tournaments because we thought we had a sufficient points lead,” Ronan Labar reacted on Franceinfo.
The athletes are therefore demanding an exceptional invitation from the international federation, an approach supported by the French federation, which specifies that a “letter of complaint and support for their appeal has been sent”. The French federation requests “the exceptional qualification of Lucas Corvée and Ronan Labar for the Paris 2024 Games in the men’s doubles table, in addition to that of the first qualified pair, in the name of sporting fairness and the values of the Olympism”, believing that “the resolution of this situation must not be to the detriment of Christo and Toma Junior”.
The Olympic badminton events will be held from July 27 to August 5 at the Arena Porte de la Chapelle, in the 18th arrondissement of the capital.