For the first time since its debut in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, the Maldives entered a badminton player into the Olympic tournament. Taking part in his first Olympic Games, Mohamed Ajfan Rasheed carried the Maldivian flag at the opening ceremony. He accepted the invitation from the Tripartite Commission and the Badminton World Federation to compete in the men's singles. The Tripartite Commission is made in collaboration of the individual countries' committees, the International Olympic Committee, as well as the Badminton World Federation. Ajfan was drawn in Group K of the men's singles tournament. On 28 July, he played against world fifteenth-ranked Marc Zwiebler of Germany in the group stage, whom he lost against in the first round 9–21 and was defeated by his opponent 6–21 in the second round. Ajfan's next game was against Ukraine's Dmytro Zavadsky two days later whom he lost against in two sets, scoring eight points while his opponent reached 21 points in the first set. He was also defeated in his second set match with a 13-point deficit to Zavadsky and, therefore, he was eliminated from the competition.
