At the Tokyo Olympics, the refugee team players, who are made up of players who have fled their home countries due to conflicts, are also participating in the competition from the 24th.
The refugee team was first formed at the last Rio de Janeiro Games, with 29 athletes from 11 countries participating in this competition.
On the 24th, the second day of the tournament, Aram Mahmoud, a 24-year-old from Syria, took the lead in the refugee team in the badminton men's singles qualifying league.
In 2015, Mahmud fled Syria, where the civil war between the Assad regime and rebels continued, to the Netherlands, aiming to become the top badminton player at the age of seven, and made his first Olympic appearance.
On the 24th, he played against Indonesia's Jonatan Christie, who ranked 7th in the world ranking, and after dropping the first game 8 to 21, the second game led 10 to 9 halfway with shots using slow and fast. However, after that, he was defeated by a straight with a game count of 0 to 2, losing consecutive points and dropping 14 to 21.
According to the homepage of the World Badminton World Federation, Mahmud said after the match, "It was wonderful to be able to play today. This has always been my dream. I am proud to be a refugee team."