Paris 2024: A look at the racket and combat sports of this year's Olympics

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — There’s nothing quite like going head-to-head in competition. Whether it’s across the net with a racket in hand or grappling on a mat, the intensity between two individuals is high, especially when a medal is at stake.

From badminton to boxing, table tennis to taekwondo, the Olympics are often the pinnacle of these sports, basking in the global spotlight once every four years. And the U.S. will have a handful of medal contenders, including former Buckeye wrestler Kyle Snyder and Cleveland born fencer Lee Kiefer.

With competition set to begin in Paris, here’s a look at the racket and combat sports that will be contested at this summer’s Olympic Games.

Badminton

Events: Men’s and women’s singles, men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles
Most medals: China (47 medals, 20 golds)
Has been in the Olympic program since 1992

Though badminton made its first appearance as a demonstration sport at the Munich 1972 Olympics, it wasn’t a competitive sport until it made its debut in Barcelona 20 years later. Medals will be awarded in five different events during ten days of competition at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena.

Both singles champions, Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen and China’s Chen Yufei, are back looking to defend their Olympic gold medals. The U.S. has never won a medal in Olympic badminton but Beiwen Zhang looks to change that for Team USA. Born in China, the 34-year-old has represented the U.S. since 2013 and recently won gold at the 2023 Pan American Games. Twin sisters Annie Xu and Kerry Xu are making their Olympic debut after winning Pan Am silver last year.

CHENGDU, CHINA – APRIL 28: Annie Xu and Kerry Xu of the United States compete in the Women’s Doubles Round Robin match against Kim Hye Jeong and Lee So Hee of Korea during day two of the Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2024 at Chengdu High-tech Sports Centre on April 28, 2024 in Chengdu, China. (Photo by Shi Tang/Getty Images)

Table Tennis

Events: Men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s team, mixed doubles
Most medals: China (60 medals, 32 gold)
Has been in the Olympic program since 1988

Often referred to by the nickname “ping pong,” table tennis often has a cult following every Olympics by casual sports fans that tune in every four years. China has dominated the competition, winning 32 of the 37 gold medals that have been awarded. Other than China, only South Korea, Japan and Sweden have won Olympic titles since its introduction at the Seoul Games.

China’s Ma Long is the two-time reigning Olympic champion but his teammate Wang Chuqin ranks No. 1 in men’s singles. France will be cheering on brothers Felix and Alexis Lebrun in the team competition. The duo is ranked in the top 20 and made it to the world team championships final, where it lost to China.

TAIYUAN, CHINA – MAY 26: Ma Long and Lin Gaoyuan of China compete in the Men’s Doubles Final match against Wang Chuqin and Liang Jingkun of China on day four of WTT Contender Taiyuan 2024 at Taiyuan Binhe Sports Center on May 26, 2024 in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province of China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

Boxing

Events: Men’s 51kg, 57kg, 63.5kg, 71kg, 80kg, 92kg, and over 92kg, Women’s 50kg, 54kg, 57kg, 60kg, 66kg, and 75kg
Most medals: United States (117 medals, 50 gold)
With the exception of the Stockholm 1912 Games, has been at every Olympics since 1904

Due to ongoing issues involving the sport’s governing body and the International Olympic Committee, boxing has been on the verge of being eliminated from the Games’ program. That means Paris could be the last time we see boxing if a new governing body isn’t in place in time for the Los Angeles Games.

Though the sport is reaching gender parity, the 2024 Games will see the smallest field for boxing since 1956, with 249 athletes competing for medals this summer. Preliminary rounds will take place at North Paris Arena at Villepinte while Roland Garros Stadium, normally the site of the annual French Open in tennis, will host the medal fights after the conclusion of the Olympic tennis competitions.

Houston’s Joshua Edwards is the first American super heavyweight boxer to qualify for an Olympics since George Foreman. Cuba’s Arlen López and Julio César La Cruz look to join a small list of three-time Olympic boxing champions. Cindy Ngamba is one of 36 athletes representing the IOC’s Refugee Olympic Team.

SANTIAGO, CHILE – OCTOBER 26: Joshua Edwards of Team United States (blue) punches Fernando Alejandro Arzola of Team Cuba (red) on Boxing – Men’s +92kg semifinals at Centro de Entrenamiento Olimpico on Day 6 of Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games on October 26, 2023 in Santiago, Chile.(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Fencing

Events: Men’s and women’s épée individual, foil individual, sabre individual, épée team, foil team, and sabre team
Most medals: Italy (130 medals, 49 gold)
Has been in every Olympics since 1896

Fencing is one of the few Olympic sports that has been contested at every Games since the modern movement began in 1896. There are three different weapons used in fencing: épée, sabre and foil.

Épée fencing is the heaviest of the three swords and fighters can target anywhere on the opponents’ body with the tip of the blade. Foil fencers are also limited to hitting with the point of the weapon but can only target the opponents’ torso, shoulders and neck. Sabre fencers can hit with point, edge or back of the blade and can target anywhere above the waist.

Cleveland’s Lee Kiefer returns after becoming the first American to win an individual foil gold at the Tokyo Games. Her husband, Gerek Meinhardt, will also compete in foil for the United States. Eli Dershwitz enters the men’s sabre competition as the reigning world champion.

MILAN, ITALY – JULY 25: Eli Dershwitz of USA attends the Sabre Men’s Senior Individual Final during FIE Fencing World Championships on July 25, 2023 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)

Judo

Events: Women’s -48 kg, -52 kg, -57 kg, -63 kg, -70 kg, -78 kg, and +78 kg, Men’s -60 kg, -66 kg, -73 kg, -81 kg, -90 kg, -100 kg, and +100 kg, Mixed team event
Most Medals: Japan (96 medals, 48 gold)
Debuted at Tokyo 1964 Games, has been in every Olympics since 1972

There will be 14 individual gold medals and a mixed team title at stake when judo is contested at the Champs du Mars Arena by the Eiffel Tower. The French team won eight individual medals at the Tokyo Olympics, including the mixed team gold over Japan, giving them plenty of confidence heading into their home Games.

France will be led by Teddy Riner, an 11-time world champion and three-time gold medalist who is one medal away from being the most decorated judoka in Olympic history. His teammate, Clarisse Agbegnenou, will also look to benefit from the home crowd in the -63kg weight division. She’s a six-time world champion in the event and is the defending Olympic title holder.

PARIS, FRANCE, 4 FEBRUARY: Triple Olympic champion and eleven times World champion, Teddy Riner of France (blue judogi), 34, resists an attack by Losseni Kone of Germany, 22, during their o100kg quarter-final contest. Riner eventually defeated Kone with a hold for ippon (10 points) as he progressed to the final and his eighth Paris Grand Slam title during the 2024 Paris Judo Grand Slam (2-4 February) at the Accorhotels Arena on February 4, 2024 in Bercy, Paris, France. (Photo by David Finch/Getty Images)

Shooting

Events: Men’s and women’s 10m air rifle, men’s and women’s 50m rifle 3 positions, men’s and women’s 10m air pistol, men’s 25m rapid fire pistol, men’s and women’s trap, men’s and women’s skeet, women’s 25m pistol, mixed team 10m air rifle, 10m air pistol, and skeet
Most medals: United States (116 medals, 57 gold)
Has been in every Olympics since 1896 except for 1904 and 1928

It may not be a sport where athletes go head-to-head or are locked in combat. But shooting has been a fixture of the Olympics. The first gold medal of the Paris Olympics will be awarded at the shooting range when the mixed team 10-meter air rifle is contested on Saturday morning. 19 different countries won medals in shooting three years ago in Tokyo, including the tiny European mountain nation of San Marino, which took home silver and bronze.

American Vincent Hancock is back for his fifth Olympics, seeking his fourth gold medal in skeet shooting. Only five other athletes have won the same individual Olympic event four times. Meanwhile, Nino Salukvadze is set to become the first woman to compete in ten Olympics. The 55-year-old from the former Soviet republic of Georgia will be competing in the women’s 25-meter pistol event. She was 19 when she won gold for the Soviet Union at the Seoul 1988 Games.

ASAKA, JAPAN – JULY 26: Vincent Hancock of Team United States during the Skeet Men’s Finals on day three of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Asaka Shooting Range on July 26, 2021 in Asaka, Saitama, Japan. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Taekwondo

Events: Men’s -58kg, -68kg, -80kg, and +80kg, Women’s -49kg, -57kg, -67kg, and +67kg
Most Medals: South Korea (22 medals, 12 gold)
Has been at every Olympics since 2000

Twice appearing at the Olympics as a demonstration sport at Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992, taekwondo became a full medal sport at the Sydney Games in 2000 and South Korea has emerged as a powerhouse ever since. The martial art sport originated in Korea and translates to “the art of kicking and punching.”

The Paris Games will feature a new format. Instead of matches featuring three two-minute rounds, they will be decided under a best-of-three format. The competition will be held under the iconic glass roof of the Grand Palais exhibition hall, which is also where fencing will take place.

The United States will be led by 23-year-old Carl Alan Nickolas, who is the world No. 2 in the welterweight (-80kg) division and aims to be the first American male to win a taekwondo medal since 2012. Two Russians, Maksim Khramtsov and Vladislav Larin, will look to defend their Tokyo gold medals but will compete as neutral athletes.

US Carl Nickolas (L) competes against Colombia´s Miguel Angel Trejos in the men’s Kyorugi -80kg final taekwondo event of the Pan American Games Santiago 2022, at the Contact Sports Centre of the National Stadium Sports Park in Santiago on October 22, 2022. (Photo by JAVIER TORRES / AFP) (Photo by JAVIER TORRES/AFP via Getty Images)

Wrestling

Events: Men’s Greco-Roman 60kg, 67kg, 77kg, Men’s 87kg, 97kg, and 130kg, Women’s Freestyle 50kg, 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg, and 76kg, Men’s Freestyle 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg, and 125kg
Most Medals: United States (138 medals, 55 gold)
Has appeared at every Olympics since 1896

One of the oldest sports in human history, wrestling dates back to the ancient Olympics, first contested in 708 BCE. In Greco-Roman wrestling, athletes can only use their arms and upper body to attack their opponent while freestyle allows competitors to use their legs and can also hold opponents above or below the waist.

Wrestling at the Paris Olympics will take place at the Champ de Mars Arena, which is also where judo will be held. While the Soviet Union still owns the most gold medals in wrestling (62), the United States is getting closer to beating that mark. While none of the three American gold medalists from Tokyo will defend their titles in Paris, the U.S. still has strong medal contenders including Helen Maroulis and Kyle Snyder. Both won gold at Rio 2016 but came up short of winning it all in Tokyo.