Data Analysis of the Olympic Games
As the badminton competition at the Olympics is now over, it’s time for some analysis. The results website shows for each match some additional statistics. I aim to dig through that and show some data. This article might get long and I might update it in the future, if I have another idea what to include.
Number of Matches
There were in total 207 matches included in the data set. There were 54 men’s singles (14 groups with three matches and 14 matches in the knockout stage, minus two withdrawn matches with Sören Opti), 57 women’s singles (13 groups with three matches, one group with six matches, 14 matches in the knockout stage, minus the two withdrawn matches with Laura Sárosi and Beiwen Zhang). In the doubles disciplines, there were no withdrawn matches, the data set included 32 matches for men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles each (4 groups with six matches and a knockout stage with eight matches).
Number of Games
In total, 455 games were played in the 207 matches, which means that there were 41 matches with three games.
| Discipline | 2 Games | Percentage | 3 Games | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| all | 166 | 80.2% | 41 | 19.8% |
| MS | 46 | 85.2% | 8 | 14.8% |
| WS | 50 | 87.7% | 7 | 12.3% |
| MD | 26 | 81.1% | 6 | 18.9% |
| WD | 20 | 62.5% | 12 | 37.5% |
| MX | 24 | 75.0% | 8 | 25.0% |
The percentage of matches with two games is highest in the singles categories. This is understandable as in the singles categories there are more participants from lower regions of the world rankings. In doubles, there are only 16 pairs, each required to be in the top 50 of the world rankings.
Number of Rallies
The total number of rallies in the data set is 15687. This number doesn’t say much.
Duration of Rallies
The website also provides information about the length of the longest rally and the length of the average rally, both measured in seconds and strokes. However the lengths measured in seconds seem very unreliable, for example for the final in the men’s doubles the average rally is supposed to last 12 seconds while only consisting of 4 strokes. This would mean that there was a stroke only every about three seconds, which is totally unrealistic. There are also other matches with unrealistic lengths when measured in seconds, thus the measurement in seconds will be ignored.
The average number of stokes per rally can be averaged for all matches:
| Discipline | avg. Strokes / Rally |
|---|---|
| all | 7.35 |
| MS | 7.37 |
| WS | 6.75 |
| MD | 6.47 |
| WD | 9.56 |
| MX | 7.03 |
The lowest number of average strokes per rally is in the men’s doubles, due to the generally shorter rallies. In women’s singles rallies are shorter than in the men’s singles, maybe due to larger gaps in the strengths in the group matches. The women’s doubles has the longest rallies, the difference to the average over all disciplines, that also includes the women’s doubles matches, being more than two rallies and the difference to men’s doubles being more than three strokes per rally.
For every match only the longest rally is recorded, only these are included in the data, thus making the list the list of the longest longest rallies. Maybe the second longest rally of one of the first matches was long enough to make the list as well, but these second longest rallies were not recorded. The matches with the longest longest rallies are:
| Nr. | Strokes | Players | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 101 | POLII Greysia/RAHAYU Apriyani - DU Yue/LI Yin Hui | Quarterfinal |
| 2 | 98 | PIEK Selena/SEINEN Cheryl - HONDERICH Rachel/TSAI Kristen | Group Play Stage |
| 3 | 90 | POLII Greysia/RAHAYU Apriyani - LEE Sohee/SHIN Seungchan | Semi-final |
| 4 | 89 | FUKUSHIMA Yuki/HIROTA Sayaka - POLII Greysia/RAHAYU Apriyani | Group Play Stage |
| 5 | 82 | FUKUSHIMA Yuki/HIROTA Sayaka - CHEN Qing Chen/JIA Yi Fan | Quarterfinal |
| 6 | 76 | FUKUSHIMA Yuki/HIROTA Sayaka - CHOW Mei Kuan/LEE Meng Yean | Group Play Stage |
| 7 | 74 | CHOW Mei Kuan/LEE Meng Yean - BIRCH Chloe/SMITH Lauren | Group Play Stage |
| 74 | LEE Sohee/SHIN Seungchan - DU Yue/LI Yin Hui | Group Play Stage | |
| 74 | LEE Sohee/SHIN Seungchan - KIM Soyeong/KONG Heeyong | Bronze Medal Match | |
| 10 | 73 | KAMURA Takeshi/SONODA Keigo - LAMSFUSS Mark/SEIDEL Marvin | Group Play Stage |
As to be expected the list is dominated by women’s doubles. Only Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu and Du Yue/Li Yin Hui achieved more than 100 strokes in one rally. At rank 10 is the first men’s doubles.
The matches with the shortest average number of strokes per rally are:
| Nr. | Strokes | Players | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | HE Bing Jiao - ABDUL RAZZAQ Fathimath Nabaaha | Group Play Stage |
| 4 | LEE Yang/WANG Chi-Lin - LANE Ben/VENDY Sean | Group Play Stage | |
| 4 | TAI Tzu-Ying - QI Xuefei | Group Play Stage | |
| 4 | TAI Tzu-Ying - JAQUET Sabrina | Group Play Stage | |
| 4 | LI Michelle - REPISKA Martina | Group Play Stage | |
| 4 | LI Jun Hui/LIU Yu Chen - LEE Yang/WANG Chi-Lin | Gold Medal Match |
There are six matches with only four strokes on average per rally. Five of them are from group matches, the other one is the gold medal match in men’s doubles. Thus, from this data alone, it can be said, that the men’s doubles final was probaly decided in the service situations. Following these six matches are 20 matches each with an average if five strokes per rally.
The matches with the most strokes per rally are:
| Nr. | Strokes | Players | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | KIM Soyeong/KONG Heeyong - KITITHARAKUL Jongkolphan/PRAJONGJAI Rawinda | Group Play Stage |
| 13 | POLII Greysia/RAHAYU Apriyani - LEE Sohee/SHIN Seungchan | Semi-final | |
| 13 | FUKUSHIMA Yuki/HIROTA Sayaka - CHOW Mei Kuan/LEE Meng Yean | Group Play Stage | |
| 4 | 12 | FUKUSHIMA Yuki/HIROTA Sayaka - POLII Greysia/RAHAYU Apriyani | Group Play Stage |
| 12 | CHEN Yu Fei - AN Seyoung | Quarterfinal | |
| 6 | 11 | POLII Greysia/RAHAYU Apriyani - CHOW Mei Kuan/LEE Meng Yean | Group Play Stage |
| 11 | DU Yue/LI Yin Hui - FRUERGAARD Maiken/THYGESEN Sara | Group Play Stage | |
| 11 | STOEVA Gabriela/STOEVA Stefani - KITITHARAKUL Jongkolphan/PRAJONGJAI Rawinda | Group Play Stage | |
| 11 | FUKUSHIMA Yuki/HIROTA Sayaka - BIRCH Chloe/SMITH Lauren | Group Play Stage | |
| 11 | CHOW Mei Kuan/LEE Meng Yean - BIRCH Chloe/SMITH Lauren | Group Play Stage | |
| 11 | FUKUSHIMA Yuki/HIROTA Sayaka - CHEN Qing Chen/JIA Yi Fan | Quarterfinal | |
| 11 | HE Bing Jiao - PUSARLA V. Sindhu | Bronze Medal Match | |
| 11 | WANGCHAROEN Kantaphon - SCHAEFER Kai | Group Play Stage | |
| 11 | POLII Greysia/RAHAYU Apriyani - DU Yue/LI Yin Hui | Quarterfinal | |
| 11 | CHEN Yu Fei - HE Bing Jiao | Semi-final | |
| 11 | PUSARLA V. Sindhu - YAMAGUCHI Akane | Quarterfinal |
The list is again dominated by women’s doubles who occupy four of the five spots with an average of 12 or 13, along with seven spots of the matches with an average of 11. Gold medallist Chen Yu Fei is twice in the list with her quarterfinal and her semi-final.
Durations
The average duration in minutes of the matches were:
| Discipline | Average Duration / min |
|---|---|
| MS | 44.1 |
| WS | 38.4 |
| MD | 38.2 |
| WD | 55.5 |
| MX | 43.9 |
So, women’s singles and men’s doubles are on average the shortest matches, while women’s doubles are the longest.
The ten shortest matches were;
| Nr. | Duration | Players | Discipline | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | CHEN Yu Fei - HANY Doha | WS | Group Play Stage |
| 19 | SEO Seungjae/CHAE Yujung - ELGAMAL Adham Hatem/HANY Doha | MX | Group Play Stage | |
| 19 | TABELING Robin/PIEK Selena - ELGAMAL Adham Hatem/HANY Doha | MX | Group Play Stage | |
| 4 | 20 | ZHENG Si Wei/HUANG Ya Qiong - ELGAMAL Adham Hatem/HANY Doha | MX | Group Play Stage |
| 20 | MATSUMOTO Mayu/NAGAHARA Wakana - HANY Doha/HOSNY Hadia | WD | Group Play Stage | |
| 20 | HE Bing Jiao - ABDUL RAZZAQ Fathimath Nabaaha | WS | Group Play Stage | |
| 7 | 21 | ADESOKAN Dorcas Ajoke - AZURMENDI Clara | WS | Group Play Stage |
| 21 | YIGIT Neslihan - HANY Doha | WS | Group Play Stage | |
| 9 | 23 | YAMAGUCHI Akane - SHAHZAD Mahoor | WS | Group Play Stage |
| 23 | HONDERICH Rachel/TSAI Kristen - HANY Doha/HOSNY Hadia | WD | Group Play Stage |
Surprisingly, no men’s doubles is on this list, despite being the discipline with the shortest matches on average. Maybe the distribution of lengths in men’s doubles is narrower. All ten matches are from the group stage. The shortest match from the knock-out stage is one of the matches on rank 28, the men’s doubles semi-final between Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin and Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan with 28 minutes.
The ten longest matches were:
| Nr. | Duration | Players | Discipline | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | POLII Greysia/RAHAYU Apriyani - DU Yue/LI Yin Hui | WD | Quarterfinal |
| 2 | 84 | FUKUSHIMA Yuki/HIROTA Sayaka - CHOW Mei Kuan/LEE Meng Yean | WD | Group Play Stage |
| 84 | FUKUSHIMA Yuki/HIROTA Sayaka - POLII Greysia/RAHAYU Apriyani | WD | Group Play Stage | |
| 4 | 83 | CHEN Qing Chen/JIA Yi Fan - KIM Soyeong/KONG Heeyong | WD | Group Play Stage |
| 5 | 81 | CHEN Yu Fei - TAI Tzu-Ying | WS | Gold Medal Match |
| 6 | 79 | FUKUSHIMA Yuki/HIROTA Sayaka - CHEN Qing Chen/JIA Yi Fan | WD | Quarterfinal |
| 79 | GINTING Anthony Sinisuka - ANTONSEN Anders | MS | Quarterfinal | |
| 79 | CHEN Yu Fei - HE Bing Jiao | WS | Semi-final | |
| 9 | 78 | LEE Sohee/SHIN Seungchan - FRUERGAARD Maiken/THYGESEN Sara | WD | Group Play Stage |
| 78 | WANG Tzu-Wei - NGUYEN Nhat | MS | Group Play Stage |
The four longest matches are all women’s doubles, with a total of six in the top ten. Remarkable that both Chen Yu Fei’s semi final and the final are amongst the longest matches.
Biggest Comebacks
The data also includes information about the biggest comebacks. That means that the eventual winner of the game was at one point trailing. The comebacks from a deficit of six or more points were:
| Nr. | Deficit | Player | Opponent | Game | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | ULITINA Maria | SILVA Fabiana | 2nd | Group Play Stage |
| 8 | WANG Yi Lyu/HUANG Dong Ping | SEO Seungjae/CHAE Yujung | 2nd | Quarterfinal | |
| 3 | 7 | OKUHARA Nozomi | LI Yvonne | 1st | Group Play Stage |
| 7 | MAPASA Setyana/SOMERVILLE Gronya | FRUERGAARD Maiken/THYGESEN Sara | 1st | Group Play Stage | |
| 5 | 6 | ELLIS Marcus/SMITH Lauren | GICQUEL Thom/DELRUE Delphine | 2nd | Group Play Stage |
| 6 | LEUNG Simon Wing Hang/SOMERVILLE Gronya | JORDAN Praveen/OKTAVIANTI Melati Daeva | 1st | Group Play Stage | |
| 6 | CALJOUW Mark | B. Sai Praneeth | 2nd | Group Play Stage | |
| 6 | CHEN Yu Fei | AN Seyoung | 1st | Quarterfinal |
In total, 286 games were won after a deficit, meaning also that in 169 games, or 37% of all games, one player or team was the only one ever in lead during the game.
Challenges
There were in total 396 challenges. The average number of challenges per match is thus about 1.9. The total number of successful challenges was 86, thus in total 21.7% of challenges were successful.
The total number of challenges by the eventual winner of the game is 183, of which 51 were successful. This gives a rate of success of 27.9%. The eventual losers of the games challenged more often, in total 213 times, but only being successful 35 times, giving a success rate of only 16.4%, significantly lower than that of the winners. It could be, that they lost because their challenges were unsuccessful, although the absolute difference is rather small. The higher number of challenges can also be due to challenges made purely out of despair.
| Discipline | Total Challenges | per Match | Successful | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| all | 396 | 1.9 | 86 | 21.7% |
| MS | 110 | 2.0 | 23 | 20.9% |
| WS | 111 | 1.9 | 31 | 27.9% |
| MD | 60 | 1.9 | 6 | 10.0% |
| WD | 63 | 2.0 | 12 | 19.0% |
| MX | 52 | 1.6 | 14 | 26.9% |
It is unclear why challenges in the men’s doubles were so unsuccessful.
| Game | Total Challenges | Successful | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 157 | 36 | 22.9% |
| 2nd | 191 | 36 | 18.8% |
| 3rd | 48 | 14 | 29.2% |
The rise in total number of challenges in the second game might be due to more desperation challenges, explaining the lower rate of success. It is unclear, why the percentage of successful challenges rises in the third game. Maybe, line judges are getting tired by then, but it’s difficult to say from this small sample.
As having had two unsuccessful challenges in one game takes away the right to further challenges, the question arises: How often did one player or team use up both their challenges? This happened 49 times in the 207 matches or 455 games. Interestingly, of these 49 players or teams, 19 went on to win the game while 30 lost the game. Of course it’s not possible to say that these pairs lost due to the lack of challenges. It is as well plausible that their challenges were made trying to clutch the last straw.
Shuttles Used
In total 3014 shuttles were used during the 207 matches, giving an average of 14.6 shuttles per match. Another way to look at it, a new shuttle was needed every 5.2 rallies.
| Discipline | Shuttles Used | Shuttles per Match | Rallies per Shuttle |
|---|---|---|---|
| all | 3014 | 14.6 | 5.2 |
| MS | 895 | 16.6 | 4.4 |
| WS | 577 | 10.1 | 6.9 |
| MD | 541 | 16.9 | 4.6 |
| WD | 625 | 19.5 | 4.3 |
| MX | 376 | 11.8 | 6.8 |
The shuttles were rather short-lived in the men’s singles and the men’s doubles, probably due to the hard hits, as well as the women’s doubles, probably due to the long rallies. It’s surprising though that shuttles last as long as they did in the mixed doubles.
Penalties (Cards)
There were in total two yellow cards given. In their group match against Chow and Lee, Fukushima and Hirota received a yellow card for not returning quickly enough to the court at the beginning of the second game. The other yellow card was given to Kim and Kong in their group match against Chen and Jia, also for taking too much time, but between the second and third game.