Badminton had its debut as an official medal sport at the 1992 Summer Olympics. It was held from 28 July to 4 August 1992. Four events were held in the first competition of the sport: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, and women's doubles. Badminton was contested in the Pavelló de la Mar Bella . 36 nations entered competitors, with a total of 177 entrants. Asian nations won fifteen of the sixteen medals, with their dominance being broken only by Denmark's bronze medal in the men's singles.
The tournament was single-elimination. Matches consisted of three sets, with sets being to 15 except in women's singles, where sets were to 11. No playoffs were contested for semi-final losers, meaning that two bronze medals were awarded in each event. Similarly, all four players/pairs defeated in the quarterfinals for each event were awarded fifth place.
Medallists
| Event:
| Gold:
| Silver:
| Bronze:
| Bronze:
|
| Men's singles:
| Alan Budikusuma, Indonesia
| Ardy Wiranata , Indonesia
| Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen , Denmark
| Hermawan Susanto , Indonesia
|
| Women's singles:
| Susi Susanti, Indonesia
| Bang Soo Hyun , Korea
| Huang Hua , China
| Tang Jiuhong , China
|
| Men's doubles:
| Korea Kim Moon-Soo Park Joo-Bong
| Indonesia Eddy Hartono Rudy Gunawan
| China Li Yongbo Tian Bingyi
| Malaysia Razif Sidek Jalani Sidek
|
| Women's doubles:
| Korea Hwang Hye Young Chung So-Young
| China Guan Weizhen Nong Qunhua
| Korea Gil Young Ah Shim Eun Jung
| China Lin Yan Fen Yao Fen
|
Top 8 table
Results
Women's singles
The winner of the women's singles competition received the first official badminton medal in Olympic history. It was also the first gold medal for Indonesia, which before had only won one silver (in archery). 52 players from 27 nations competed in women's singles.
Women's singles final
Men's singles
The men's singles resulted in the only non-Asian medallist, Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen of Denmark. 57 players from 32 nations competed in men's singles.
Men's singles quarterfinals
The Indonesian team won three out of the four quarterfinal matches.
Men's singles semifinals
The only non-Indonesian player left was defeated in the semifinal, winning a bronze medal.
- Alan Budikusuma, Indonesia def.
- Ardy Wiranata, Indonesia def.
Men's singles final
- Alan Budikusuma, Indonesia def. Ardy Wiranata, Indonesia (15-2, 18-13)
Women's doubles
29 pairs from 20 nations competed in women's doubles.
Women's doubles semifinals
- Hwang Hye Young and Chung So-Young , Korea def. Lin Yan Fen and Yao Fen , China
- Guan Weizhen and Nong Qunhua , China def. Gil Young Ah and Shim Eun Jung , Korea
Women's doubles finals
- Hwang and Chung, Korea def. Guan and Nong, China (18-16, 12-15, 15-13)
Men's doubles
Malaysia won its first Olympic medal in the men's doubles competitions in badminton. 30 pairs from 21 nations competed in men's doubles.
Men's doubles semifinals
- Kim Moon-Soo and Park Joo-Bong , Korea def. Razif Sidek and Jalani Sidek , Malaysia
- Eddy Hartono and Rudy Gunawan , Indonesia def. Li Yongbo and Tian Bingyi , China
Men's doubles final
- Kim and Park, Korea def. Hartono and Gunawan, Indonesia (15-11, 15-7)