From now on, every point counts. Badminton players hoping to compete for a medal at Rio 2016 can now win points to boost their world rankings and their hopes of qualification for the Olympics. Starting on 5 May 2015 and running until 1 May 2016, athletes can boost their ranking in a series of tournaments of the sport around the world. One of these opportunities will be the Australian Open 2015, which will take place from 26 to 31 May in Sydney, Australia. The tournament will bring together the elite of the sport - all competing to boost their chances of an Olympic spot

Part of the badminton circuit known as the Super Series, the tournament this week is one of the most significant in terms of the number of points available for the world rankings (9,200 points for the winner), behind just the Olympic Games themselves (up to 12,000 points) and the World Championship (up to 12,000 points) and the grand final of the Super Series (up to 11,000 points). The circuit, which takes place annually, is made up of 12 international competitions, in which just the 32 top ranked players in the singles and doubles are invited to take part.

The latest world rankings were published on 21 May and confirmed Asia’s dominance of the sport. Between eight and 10 of the best players in the men’s singles are from that continent, with China particularly strong. The Olympic gold-medallists, Chen Long and Lin Dan (the current tournament champions), are currently in first and second place, respectively.

It’s the same story in the women’s singles ranking, in which there is just one non-Asian athlete, the Spaniard Carolina Marin, who is in third place. In first place is Saina Nehwal, from India, who will arrive in Australia to defend the title she won in this competition in 2014.

Among the best doubles, the Republic of Korea, Denmark and Indonesia are the top-ranked teams in the men’s, while Japan and China lead the women’s event. In the mixed tournament, China occupies the top spot, and also has a total of four doubles teams in the world’s top ten at the moment.

In all, 176 athletes will take part in the singles and doubles badminton events at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Brazil is the only country with qualification guaranteed in the singles events (men and women). The rest of the places will only be decided on 6 May 2016, when the final world rankings are published.

Check out below the top 10 world rankings on 21 May 2015:

Men singles

1.       CHEN Long (China)
2.       LIN Dan (China)
3.       Jan O JORGENSEN (Denmark)
4.       K. Srikanth (India)          
5.       SON Wan Ho (Republic of Korea)  
6.       CHOU Tien Chen (Chinese Taipei)              
7.       WANG Zhengming (China)
8.       Kento MOMOTA (Japan)          
9.       Viktor AXELSEN (Denmark)    
10.   TIAN Houwei (China)

Women’s singles

1.       Saina NEHWAL (India)
2.       LI Xuerui (China)
3.       Carolina MARIN (Spain)
4.       TAI Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei)
5.       WANG Shixian (China)
6.       Ratchanok INTANON (Thailand)
7.       SUNG Ji Hyun (Republic of Korea)
8.       WANG Yihan (China)
9.       SUN Yu (China)
10.   Nozomi OKUHARA (Japan)

Men’s doubles

1.       LEE Yong Dae e YOO Yeon Seong (Republic of Korea)
2.       Mathias BOE e Carsten MOGENSEN (Denmark)
3.       Hendra SETIAWAN e Mohammad AHSAN (Indonesia)
4.       LEE Sheng Mu e TSAI Chia Hsin (Chinese Taipei)
5.       CHAI Biao e HONG Wei (China)
6.       Hiroyuki ENDO e Kenichi HAYAKAWA (Japan)
7.       LIU Xiaolong e QIU Zihan (China)
8.       FU Haifeng e ZHANG Nan (China)
9.       Mads CONRAD-PETERSEN e Mads PIELER KOLDING (Denmark)
10.   Gi Jung KIM e KIM Sa Rang (Republic of Korea)

Women’s doubles

1.       Misaki MATSUTOMO e Ayaka TAKAHASHI (Japan)
2.       TIAN Qing e ZHAO Yunlei (China)
3.       WANG Xiaoli e YU Yang (China)
4.       LUO Ying e LUO Yu (China)
5.       Kamilla RYTTER JUHL e Christinna PEDERSEN (Denmark)
6.       Reika KAKIIWA e Miyuki MAEDA (Japan)
7.       Nitya Krishinda MAHESWARI e Greysia POLII (Indonesia)
8.       LEE So Hee e SHIN Seung Chan (Republic of Korea)
9.       Eefje MUSKENS e Selena PIEK (Holland)
10.     MA Jin e TANG Yuanting (China)

Mixed doubles

1.       ZHANG Nan e ZHAO Yunlei (China)
2.       XU Chen e MA Jin (China)
3.       Tontowi AHMAD e Liliyana NATSIR (Indonesia)
4.       Joachim FISCHER NIELSEN e Christinna PEDERSEN (Denmark)
5.       LIU Cheng e BAO Yixin (China)
6.       LU Kai e HUANG Yaqiong (China)
7.       Chris ADCOCK e Gabrielle ADCOCK (Great Britain)
8.       KO Sung Hyun e KIM Ha Na (Republic of Korea)
9.       Riky WIDIANTO e Puspita Richi DILI (Indonesia)
10.     Praveen JORDAN e Debby SUSANTO (Indonesia)

See the complete list on the website of the International Badminton Federation

Rio2016.com is not an absolute authority on qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is an ongoing process. Final places will only be confirmed in July 2016 (for the Olympic Games) and August 2016 (for the Paralympic Games). The qualification systems are defined by each sport’s respective International Federation and the International Olympic Committee or International Paralympic Committee, and are subject to change. When an athlete or team wins a quota place for their nation, the final decision on whether this ‘slot’ is used and which athletes are sent is taken by the respective National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee (NOC or NPC). Even when athletes win a ‘nominal’ place for themselves, NOCs/NPCs may have to decide who to send if the number of qualified athletes from one country exceeds the quota.