Badminton was the big loser after UK Sport announced its investment in Olympic and Paralympic sports for Tokyo 2020.
Badminton has had its funding cut despite Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge winning bronze to secure Britain’s first men’s doubles medal at Rio this year.
Archery, fencing, weightlifting and wheelchair rugby will also not receive funding over the next Olympic cycle.
Badminton had its funding cut from £7.4m to £5.9m after London 2012, after no players managed the minimum fourth to eighth-placed finish which had been targeted.
Yet despite the surprise success of Ellis and Langridge, the sport will not get a slice of the £345m of National Lottery and government funding which UK Sport has announced will be invested over the next four years.
“With each of the sports affected we have a commitment to see their transition out of funding is supported,” said UK Sport chief executive, Liz Nicholl. “They have got medal potential they have progressed as sports, but we cannot reach to funding them for Tokyo. Conversations are going on with those sports.”
