Nabaha becomes first badminton athlete to secure a spot in two consecutive Olympics

Local badminton star athlete Fathimath Nabaha Abdul Razzaq has, for the second time in a row, secured a spot at the Olympics games.

With this, Nabaha, who received the opportunity under a tripartite invitation for the upcoming Summer Olympics to be held in Paris, has become the first local badminton athlete to have gotten the chance to partake in two consecutive Olympics.

She first played in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which was held in 2021 due to Covid-19, where she also became the first local female badminton athlete at the games.

The Olympics Tripartite Commission extended the invitation to her based on her performance at the qualifying stage. In recent years, several local athletes competed in the games under the same invitation.

So far, three athletes have been confirmed to be competing at the Summer Olympics this year - Nabaha, Ibadulla Adam who will compete in athletics, and table tennis player Fathimath Dheema Ali, who won the qualifiers to secure her spot at the games.

One more athlete will be joining to represent the Maldives, who will likely be a swimmer according to local reports.

Chairperson of Maldives' Olympics Committee Mohamed Abdul Sattar previously said that this year Maldives will be sending its biggest contingent to the games thus far.

The 2024 Summer Olympics will be held in Paris, France from 26th July to 11th August.