Badminton at the 2016 Summer Olympics

The Olympic qualification period took place between 4 May 2015 and 1 May 2016, and the Badminton World Federation rankings list, scheduled to publish on 5 May 2016, was used to allocate spots.^[5] Unlike the previous Games, nations could only enter a maximum of two players each in the men's and women's singles, if both were ranked in the world's top 16; otherwise, one quota place until the roster of thirty-eight players had been completed. Similar regulations in the singles tournaments also applied to the players competing in the doubles, as the NOCs could only enter a maximum of two pairs if both were ranked in the top eight, while the remaining NOCs were entitled to one until the quota of 16 highest-ranked pairs was filled.^[6]

For each player who had qualified in more than one discipline, an additional quota place in each of the singles tournaments would have become free. If no player from one continent had qualify, the best ranked player from a respective continent would have got a quota place.^[5]