Badminton · Level 7: Upper-Advanced · Sub-level 7.4
Women's Doubles
10 tests · 100 facts · updated 29 October 2026 · markdown
Women's doubles is known for patient, often very long rallies, because strong defence returns many smashes. Pairs serve low, attack front and back on the same doubles court as the other events, and wait for a short lift to attack. Smashes to the middle create doubt between defenders, drop shots pull a deep defence forward, and a flat block or counter-drive can turn a defending pair into the attackers, with the front player finishing weak replies at the net.
South Korea's Hwang Hye-young and Chung So-young won the first Olympic title in 1992. China then won five in a row: Ge Fei and Gu Jun in 1996 and 2000, the only pair to win twice, Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen in 2004, Du Jing and Yu Yang in 2008, and Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei in 2012. Japan's Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi ended the run in Rio 2016 with Japan's first Olympic badminton gold. At Tokyo, held in 2021, Indonesia's Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu beat China's Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan, who went on to win gold in Paris 2024 after four world titles from 2017 to 2023.
At London 2012 four pairs from China, South Korea and Indonesia, eight players including Polii, were disqualified for not using their best efforts to win group matches. The facts below cover how the event is played, its champions and the pairs from China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and Denmark.
Each test below is ten questions on Insporta. The list under a test is what the questions check: one fact per question, with the source it was written from. Read it before the test, or come back from a wrong answer.
Test 1The women's doubles gameTake a test
Long, patient exchanges.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
Smashes come back.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
Same as all doubles.
Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 8 · recall
Low serves deny the attack.
Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 8 · recall
Build, then attack.
Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 8 · recall
Turn defence over.
Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 8 · applied
One doubles court.
Source: BWF Laws of Badminton 2027 (player's view) · recall
Serve, defend, lift, attack, finish.
Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 8 · recall
Women's doubles often longest.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
Long defensive rallies.
Source: General badminton reference · applied
Test 2Olympic championsTake a test
Hwang Hye-young and Chung So-young.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
China, Atlanta and Sydney.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
China, Athens.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
China, Beijing.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
China, London.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
China, Paris.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
1996 and 2000.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · applied
1992, 2004, 2008, 2012.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
1996, 2004, 2012, 2024.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
They retained their title.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · applied
Test 3China's long runTake a test
1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Matsutomo and Takahashi.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Depth and system.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
London and Guangzhou.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
Copenhagen and Jakarta.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
Women's doubles with Tian Qing, mixed with Zhang Nan.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
With Du Jing in 2008, then Wang Xiaoli.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
1996, 2004, 2008, 2012.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
2011, 2014, 2017.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
1996 to 2012.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · applied
Test 4Japan's first goldTake a test
Women's doubles in Rio.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Rio de Janeiro.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
London 2012.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Nanjing and Basel.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
Paris 2024 bronze.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Depth of pairs.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
Five Chinese golds in a row.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
2012, 2016, 2018.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
2012, 2016, 2024.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Kakiiwa and Fujii, London 2012.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · applied
Test 5Greysia PoliiTake a test
Indonesian.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
Tokyo 2020.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
A first for Indonesian women's doubles.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
The 2012 disqualifications.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Nine years later, Olympic champion.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
Delayed a year by the pandemic.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
2012, 2016, 2021.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
1992, 2016, 2021.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Indonesia's women's doubles gold.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · applied
Test 6London 2012Take a test
Eight players were disqualified.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
They tried to lose group matches.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Draw manipulation.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
Four women's doubles pairs.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Four pairs from three countries.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Kakiiwa and Fujii took silver.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · applied
As it happened.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Gold, silver, bronze.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Not using best efforts.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · applied
Test 7Chen Qingchen and Jia YifanTake a test
Chinese.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
2017, 2021, 2022, 2023.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
They lost to Polii and Rahayu.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Paris 2024.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Glasgow 2017.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
A long winning partnership.
Source: General badminton reference · applied
Glasgow 2017.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
2017, 2021, 2022, 2023.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
2017, 2021, 2024.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Glasgow 2017.
Source: General badminton reference · applied
Test 8Korea and the new namesTake a test
Barcelona 1992.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
New Delhi 2026.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
Paris 2025.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
Depth worldwide.
Source: General badminton reference · applied
Tokyo bronze.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Defence and consistency.
Source: General badminton reference · applied
1992 to 2026.
Source: General badminton reference · applied
2023, 2025, 2026.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
1992, 2021, 2026.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
New Delhi 2026.
Source: General badminton reference · applied
Test 9Europe's pairsTake a test
Rio 2016 silver.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
London 2012 bronze.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Depth of squads.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
Denmark leads Europe.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
Laybourn and Rytter Juhl in Hyderabad.
Source: General badminton reference · recall
Fewer players, more events each.
Source: General badminton reference · applied
Rio 2016.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
2009, 2012, 2016.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
China many, Japan several, Denmark one.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · recall
Pedersen and Rytter Juhl took silver.
Source: Olympedia, Olympic badminton results · applied
Test 10How women's doubles is playedTake a test
Middle confusion.
Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 8 · recall
Defensive technique.
Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 7 · recall
Bring them in.
Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 8 · recall
Variety breaks deadlocks.
Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 8 · recall
Front-court finisher.
Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 8 · recall
Fitness for long rallies.
Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 9 · applied
Flat replies turn it.
Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 8 · recall
Smash, drop, draw, attack.
Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 8 · recall
Drives first.
Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 8 · recall
Change of length.
Source: BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 8 · applied
Questions people ask
- What happened in the women's doubles at London 2012?
- Four pairs, from China, South Korea and Indonesia, were disqualified for not using their best efforts to win group matches. They were trying to lose to get an easier path in the knockout draw.
- How many Olympic women's doubles titles did China win in a row?
- Five, at every Games from 1996 to 2012. Japan's Matsutomo and Takahashi ended the run at Rio 2016.
- Why are women's doubles rallies so long?
- Strong defence returns many smashes, so pairs build points patiently until a short lift comes. Rallies are usually longer than in mixed or men's doubles.
- Who won the Olympic women's doubles at Tokyo 2020?
- Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu of Indonesia, the country's first Olympic women's doubles gold, at Games held in 2021. Polii had been disqualified at London 2012.
- Which pair has won the Olympic women's doubles twice?
- Only one: Ge Fei and Gu Jun of China, in Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000.
- How many world titles have Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan won?
- Four, in Glasgow in 2017, Huelva in 2021, Tokyo in 2022 and Copenhagen in 2023. They added Olympic silver in Tokyo and gold in Paris 2024.
- Has a European pair won an Olympic women's doubles medal?
- Yes. Denmark's Christinna Pedersen and Kamilla Rytter Juhl won silver in 2016, and Russia's Valeria Sorokina and Nina Vislova won bronze in 2012.
Sources
BWF Coaches' Manual Level 1 (2017), BWF regulations and history, Olympedia; original questions authored, nothing reproduced. Numbered rules belong to the Rules category (Badminton - Laws of Badminton).
- Olympedia, Olympic badminton results49
- General badminton reference35
- BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 813
- BWF Laws of Badminton 2027 (player's view)1
- BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 71
- BWF Coaches' Manual L1, Module 91