| Maldives at the 2020 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | MDV |
| NOC | Maldives Olympic Committee |
| Website | www |
| inTokyo, Japan July 23, 2021 (2021-07-23) – August 8, 2021 (2021-08-08) | |
| Competitors | 4 in 3 sports |
| Flag bearers (opening) | Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq Mubal Azzam Ibrahim |
| Flag bearer (closing) | N/A |
| Medals |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
TheMaldives competed at the2020 Summer Olympics inTokyo which were held from 23 July to 8 August 2021. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the event was postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. This was the nation's ninth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in1988. The delegation consisted of four athletes, two men and two women, competing in four events across three sports. Two athletes participated in the swimming tournament:Mubal Azzam Ibrahim andAishath Sajina. AthleteHassan Saaid, a returning competitor from the2016 Rio Olympics competed in the men's 100 m.Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq was the first badminton player the Maldives entered into the Olympic tournament since the2012 London Olympics. For the first time, in an effort to promote gender equality, two flagbearers, one male and one female were allowed at the Olympics.[1] Nabaaha and Mubal lead the Maldivian squad as the flagbearers in the opening ceremony. The Maldives, however, has yet to win its first ever Olympic medal.
The Maldives is anarchipelagic country located inSouthern Asia, situated in theIndian Ocean. Formerly aprotectorate of the United Kingdom, it gained independence in 1965. TheMaldives Olympic Committee was formed in 1985, and was recognized by theInternational Olympic Committee the same year.[2] The Maldives have participated in every Summer Olympics since its debut in the1988 Summer Olympics inSeoul. The highest number of Maldivians participating at any single Summer Games was seven at the 1988 Games and the1992 Games inBarcelona,Spain.[3] No Maldivian has ever won a medal at the Olympics.[4]
The 2020 Summer Olympics were originally due to be held from 24 July to 9 August 2020, but were delayed to 23 July to 8 August 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[5] For the 2020 Summer Olympics, the Maldives sent a delegation of four athletes. The Maldivian team at the 2020 Games featured a track and field athlete, a badminton player and two swimmers. SprinterHassan Saaid participating in themen's 100 metres was the only returning athlete from the2016 Summer Olympics inRio de Janeiro, Brazil.[6] Badminton playerFathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq and swimmersMubal Azzam Ibrahim andAishath Sajina made their debut at the Olympics participating in thewomen's singles,men's 100 m freestyle andwomen's 100 m breaststroke respectively. All of the Maldivian participants qualified for the Games throughuniversality slots (a quota allowing nations to send athletes if no one has qualified for the event) from theInternational Association of Athletics Federations,FINA andBadminton World Federation.[7][8][9] Nabaaha and Mubal were chosen to be the flagbearers for the Maldives during theparade of nations of the opening ceremony.[10] No athletes were present for theclosing ceremony.[11]
Maldives receiveduniversality slots from theInternational Association of Athletics Federations to send two athletes in athletics, one male and one female, to the Olympics.[7] In March 2021, the Athletics Association of Maldives shortlisted six Maldivian sprinters, three males and three females to participate in the games. The athletes included Hassan Saaid, Ahmed Najdan Abdulla, Ibadulla Adam, Aishath Himna Hassan, Aishath Shabaa Saleem and Mariyam Ru'ya Ali.[12] After time trials held in June 2021, Saaid was chosen as the athlete that would represent the Maldives at the Olympics.[13] The Games were Saaid's second time in the Olympics because of his participation in the2016 Rio Olympics. Saaid finished fourth in the preliminary round with a time of 10.70 seconds, attaining a season best but failing to qualify for round 1.[14]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Hassan Saaid | Men's 100 m | 10.70SB | 4 | Did not advance | |||||
For the first time sinceLondon 2012, the Maldives entered a badminton player into the Olympic tournament.Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq accepted the invitation from the Tripartite Commission and theBadminton World Federation to compete in the women's singles.[8] The Tripartite Commission is made in collaboration of the individual countries' committees, theInternational Olympic Committee, as well as theBadminton World Federation.[15]
Nabaaha is the first ever female badminton player to represent the Maldives at the Olympic Games. She participated in the women's singles event. Nabaaha was seeded in group G together withHe Bingjiao ofChina andSorayya Aghaei ofIran.[16] Nabaaha lost both her sets against He Bingjiao on 25 July, the first 21–6 and the second 21–3.[17] The following day, Nabaaha also lost both sets against Sorayya Aghaei. The first was 21–14 and the second 21–7.[18] She finished in the bottom of her group, and was eliminated from the tournament. He Bingjiao went on to beat Sorayya Aghaei in two sets on 28 July, qualifying her for the next round, the first 21–11 and the second 21–3.[19]
| Athlete | Event | Group stage | Elimination | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final /BM | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Rank | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Rank | ||
| Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq | Women's singles |  He Bj (CHN)L (6–21, 3–21) |  Aghaei (IRI)L (14–21, 7–21) | 3 | Did not advance | ||||
Maldives received a universality invitation fromFINA to send two top-ranked swimmers (one per gender) in their respective individual events to the Olympics, based on the FINA Points System of June 28, 2021.[9] In May 2021, it was announced that swimmers Ali Im’aan andAishath Sausan would represent Maldives at the Olympic Games.[20] However, in July, it was announced that both athletes were replaced by Mubal Azzam Ibrahim and Aishath Sajina after FINA brought changes to the qualification standards for countries that did not qualify for the Olympics.[21] Mubal qualified for theuniversality slot from FINA as his best time of 58.24 seconds was not within the Olympic Selection Time (OST) of 50.03 seconds.[22][23] Mubal was drawn in first heat of the men's 100 m freestyle which was held on 27 July, finishing sixth just ahead ofEdgar Iro from theSolomon Islands with a time of 58.37 seconds. He finished 69th of all swimmers who competed, and did not advance to the later stages of the 100 m freestyle.[24]
Aishath Sajina made her Olympic debut at the 2020 Olympics in thewomen's 100 m breaststroke.[25] Like Mubal, Sajina qualified after receiving auniversality place from FINA, her personal best time of 3 minute, 4.53 seconds was outside the "A" and "B" qualification standard.[26][23] Sajina took part in heat one of the women's 100 m breaststroke, which was held on 25 July, finishing last out of six swimmers that started, with a time of 1 minute, 33.59 seconds. She finished last out of 43 swimmers who competed,[a] and did not advance to the later stages of the women's 100 m breaststroke.[27]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Mubal Azzam Ibrahim | Men's 100 m freestyle | 58.37 | 69 | Did not advance | |||
| Aishath Sajina | Women's 100 m breaststroke | 1:33.59 | 43 | Did not advance | |||