[2] Most of them were awarded places in their respective sporting events through wild card entries and Tripartite Commission invitations.

Two Kosovar athletes, on the other hand, qualified directly for the Olympics on merit: judoka Nora Gjakova (women's 57 kg) and Majlinda Kelmendi (women's 52 kg), the lone returning Olympian on the team after representing Albania four years earlier in London.

The world's top-ranked judoka in her weight category and the frontrunner for the country's first Olympic medal, Kelmendi was selected to become Kosovo's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.

However, Serbia, considering the harmful effects of Yugoslavia's expulsion in 1992, decided against boycotting the 2016 Rio Olympics as a consequence.

[9] Kosovo received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a women's 10 m air rifle shooter to the Olympics, as long as the minimum qualifying score (MQS) was fulfilled by March 31, 2016.