Kuala Lumpur: The Badminton World Federation (BWF) confirmed in a statement on Sunday night that the French men’s doubles pair, Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar, have secured qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Consequently, the postponed draw for the men’s doubles group stage, initially set for Friday, July 12, will now take place on Monday, July 15, at 4 PM.
📢 Official Update
French men’s doubles pair Lucas Corvée and Ronan Labar have been included in a revised 17-pair men’s doubles draw for the #Paris2024 #Olympics which will be held Monday 15 July 2024 at 4pm Malaysia time (+8 hours GMT).
This is a result of an award by the…
— BWF (@bwfmedia) July 14, 2024
The French pair, ranked 43rd in the world, has been included in the revised draw of 17 men’s doubles pairs. This development follows a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which directed BWF to recommend to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that Corvee and Labar be included in the Olympic roster.
The IOC responded positively to BWF’s suggestion, confirming Corvee and Labar as the second French men’s doubles team to compete. Due to limited time and the need to consider the impact of this decision on the rules and principles of the men’s doubles draw, BWF decided not to conduct the men’s doubles draw along with the other four events on the originally scheduled date.
As a result, the men’s doubles group draw, now comprising 17 pairs, has been rescheduled for the upcoming Monday. BWF has also released updated men’s doubles rules, explaining the new draw principles and the special handling required for the 17 pairs. These updated rules have been approved by the BWF Council and accepted by the IOC.
Group Draw Details
Among the four groups, one will now contain five pairs. The group with five pairs will be randomly selected from Groups A, B, C, and D. Neither of the French pairs is seeded, and they cannot be placed in the same group. The higher-ranked Popov brothers will be drawn first and can enter any group. Corvee and Labar, being the lower-ranked pair, will be drawn randomly in one of the remaining three groups.
