3 sports in which USA is unlikely to secure a medal at Paris Olympics 2024 ft. badminton

Team USA has consistently secured top positions in the medal rankings at the Olympic Games. While the American squad has secured multiple medals in a few pet events including swimming, gymnastics and athletics at multiple editions, the squad has found it challenging to secure even a single medal in a few other events.

The U.S. squads over the years have not managed to clinch a single Olympic medal in various sports including badminton, handball, table tennis and rhythmic gymnastics. Let's take a look at these sports, where U.S. athletes have struggled to win Olympic medals.

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3 sports in which the USA has never won a medal at the Olympics - and isn't likely to

#1 Badminton

The athletes from the United States of America never secured a place in the final of any badminton event, including male, female and mixed categories, since the sport's inclusion in the Olympics. The men’s and women’s singles and doubles events were introduced at the 1992 Games as full-medal events.

Team Japan competes against Team China during a Women’s Doubles Quarterfinal match at the 2020 Olympic Games at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza in Chofu, Tokyo, Japan. (Getty Images)

The furthest the American team has advanced in the event at the Olympics was when Howard Bach and Bob Malaythong reached the quarterfinal round of the men’s doubles team at the 2008 Beijing Games. However, they were defeated by the Chinese duo of Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng.

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#2 Rhythmic gymnastics

Given artistic gymnastics' popularity in the U.S., one might easily assume the country's Olympic squad's dominance in rhythmic gymnastics. However, their prowess doesn't match that of the finalists of this event.

Team Italy competes during the Group Rhythmic Gymnastics All-Around Final at Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo, Japan. (Getty Images)

The American team competed in the rhythmic gymnastics events for the first time after they appeared during the 1996 Games at the 2016 Rio Olympics, earning their spot as a host nation. In Brazil, the USA squad settled in 14th place, the last spot among the 14 entries. The European countries have completely dominated the sport since its inception.

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#3 Table tennis

The Chinese athletes have retained their dominance in table tennis at the Olympics. The squad secured a total of seven medals in Tokyo.

Team China in action during their Men's Team Quarterfinals table tennis match at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. - Getty Images

The American squad is yet to win its first Olympic medal in table tennis since its introduction in the Games in 1988. The U.S. squad sent six athletes to compete in this sport at the Tokyo Games but fell short of earning even a single medal.