Dream come true for players as badminton makes long-awaited debut

TOKYO: Badminton’s Paralympics Games debut was hailed as a “dream come true” by players, 29 years after it became an Olympic sport.

Badminton was first played at the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992 and now 90 players will battle for medals in 14 events over five days at Tokyo’s Yoyogi National Stadium in the inaugural Paralympics tournament.

“It’s been a long, long time, 14 years for me actually,” said 30-year-old British player Krysten Coombs, who has been involved from the fledgling days of the sport.

“I was at the first tournament back in 2008 that had short stature,” added the men’s SH6 category world No. 5.

“It’s a dream come true and I can’t wait to get started.”

The honour of the first match win in Paralympics history went to Germany’s No. 3 seed Valeska Knoblauch, who breezed past countrywoman Elke Rongen 21-7, 21-8 in the women’s WH1 category.

“It feels pretty amazing,” said Knoblauch, who also will go down as the player who hit the very first badminton serve in the Paralympics.

“I was very nervous. It’s so different to other tournaments.”

The International Paralympic Committee finally recognised the Badminton World Federation (BWF) as a para sports organisation in 2015 and selected them for Olympics inclusion at Tokyo, four years after the BWF had integrated para badminton into its structures.

“It’s been a long, long journey,” BWF secretary-general Thomas Lund said soon after the first matches concluded.

“It’s great after almost 10 years to be able to participate at the highest level that para sports can offer.

“After being involved in all the preparations for so long, it is always great to see the first shuttle fly into the air.”

The sport makes quite a spectacle, with two courts set up for wheelchair play alongside two for standing athletes. One major difference is that wheelchair singles take place on a playing area just half the width of the court.

The sport’s roots lie in Britain where it was initially played for recreation and rehabilitation until in 1995 the International Badminton Association for Disabled was formed, later integrated in the BWF.

Now it is played “in more than 80 countries across five continents” according to Lund. — AFP