Badminton player Mark Caljouw qualifies for Olympic Games

Badminton player Mark Caljouw can now officially start training for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The 26-year-old player from Rijswijker announced on Instagram on Saturday that he qualified for the Olympics. “Wow, I qualified for the Olympic Games”, Caljouw wrote.

Caljouw made the official list of the top 20 badminton players worldwide which is needed to qualify for the Olympics. With only one tournament to go, his spot is secure. “This has been a dream for me since I was a little kid”, Caljouw said.

The athlete made the announcement one day after the Kuala Lumpur tournament from May 25 to May 30 was postponed due to travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. The international badminton federation stated that the rescheduled tournament will no longer serve as a qualification for the Olympics.

Caljouw is the first male Dutch badminton player to participate in the Olympics since 1996 when Ron Michels was qualified. In 2004, Mia Audina won silver for the Netherlands in the women’s tournament. “After 25 years without a Dutch men's single qualifying, I will be presenting my country at the Olympics and I will be proud to do so”, the player said.