Para badminton, newcomer to the Tokyo 2021 Paralympic Games
Korean Kang Jung Kum during the Tokyo Paralympic Games.
AFP - PHILIP FONG
Text by: Farid Achache Follow
5 mins
Para badminton competitions are held at Yoyogi National Stadium in the Shibuya district of Tokyo.
In September 2017, para badminton was added to the Paralympic Games.
Ninety players participate in the competition.
Advertising
Read more
From our special correspondent in Tokyo,
The time must have seemed very long.
Nineteen years after the able-bodied and the Barcelona 92 Games, parabadists finally discover in Tokyo the Olympic spirit with the entry para badminton to the program of
the Paralympic Games.
Asia, the flagship continent of badminton
They will still be able to satisfy themselves, since Japan is the ideal place.
On the peninsula, hanetsuki, the ancestor of badminton, was practiced towards the end of medieval times.
The Japanese love this sport, invented in China over two millennia ago, and popular across the Asian continent.
"
In Hong Kong, I am the only para badminton player
(in a wheelchair, editor's note),
so I train with the able-bodied
", readily testifies Ho Yuen Chan. This 36-year-old, very experienced player, has been carrying all the expectations of the former British colony for a decade.
“
Before the coronavirus pandemic, I could go find partners during internships in China or South Korea.
It's very exciting to be there.
I would like to bring a medal and I cross my fingers
”, indicates this athlete in a wheelchair, with a leg amputated following a car accident, who has not had the opportunity to compete for almost two years.
Ho Yuen Chan did well to play extra time to experience great emotion in Japan, even if the health bubble is strict and the halls are empty.
►
To read: the pride of Rwandan players in sitting volleyball
A racket and a shuttlecock can make you happy
For his entry into the tournament, the Asian beat Frenchman Thomas Jakobs.
The tricolor has been suffering from paraplegia for 5 years.
He discovered the discipline four years ago.
Valid, he had tried tennis.
Quickly, he found his marks in a sport which now fascinates him.
"
It's a lot of discoveries at the same time, but I'm happy to be there despite the defeat,
" he said
,
smiles slung over his shoulder.
Ho Yuen Chan has so much experience handling this kind of event.
But I gave my maximum.
It's so good to be here with everything we've been through for the past two years without knowing if the Games will take place.
"
After a year and a half of pandemic and frustrations, Thomas Jakobs took advantage of the moment.
A racket and a shuttlecock can create great moments of happiness.
Since 2011, the discipline has been under the governance of the International Badminton Federation.
Para badminton is practiced today in more than 60 countries.
Six categories of handicap
Depending on the handicap, para badminton can be practiced standing or in a wheelchair.
As in badminton, para badminton is contested in men's and women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles, in 2 winning sets of 21 points.
If the matches are played on a standard badminton court, it may be changed for certain categories, such as wheelchair singles which take place on a half court.
Players are divided into six handicap categories, four categories for standing players and two for wheelchair users.
When hitting the shuttlecock, part of the athlete's trunk must always be in contact with the seat of his chair.
In Tokyo, 14 gold medals will be contested: 7 for men, 6 for women, and 1 for mixed doubles.
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Paralympic Games 2021
Japan
our selection
On the same subject
Reporting
Paralympic Games: para table tennis, a discipline accessible to all continents
Reporting
Paralympic Games 2021: the pride of Rwandan players in sitting volleyball
Reporting
Paralympic Games: Nigeria, flagship powerlifting nation