2018 in Review: Badminton

Regional and several international competitions filled the 2018 badminton calendar. Here are four key moments to remember ahead of the sport’s Paralympic debut at Tokyo 2020:

Upset of the… decade?

The penultimate competition of the year saw one of the biggest shocks when Hong Kong’s Chan Ho Yuen stunned South Korea’s Kim Jungjun at the Australia Para Badminton International. Kim had won all his singles matches in international Para badminton since his debut in 2012. But Chan was the man to spoil Kim’s run.

Badminton crazy in Indonesia

Indonesia ended their home Asian Para Games campaign as they had started, with the hosts taking the first gold medal of the competition and signing off with four titles – both times in badminton. It was the sport the host country shined the brightest in, as they topped the Indonesia 2018 medals table with 37 golds total.

Peruvian pride

Peruvian players shone at their home Para Badminton Pan American Championships, celebrating seven golds. Pilar Jauregui, Giuliana Poveda and Pedro Pablo de Vinatea each captured titles, giving their home fans plenty to look forward to ahead of the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games.

Almost a hat-trick

France’s Lucas Mazur delighted his home crowd at the European Para Badminton Championships. The 20-year-old almost completed a hat-trick of golds, winning his singles and mixed doubles titles, but fell one short in the men’s doubles.