Badminton to feature in 2020 Paralympics

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced today that Para-Badminton had been approved to feature in the Paralympic Games for the first time in history in Tokyo 2020.  The announcement came after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Governing Board made its decision public on which sports had been chosen as the first 16 to be included in the Tokyo 2020 programme.

“Our aim is to ensure that the final Tokyo 2020 Paralympic sports programme is fresh and features the best para-sports possible,” a BWF press release quotes IPC President Sir Philip Craven as saying.  “I would like to thank all the sports who submitted their applications.”

To that, BWF President Poul-Erik Høyer added, “On behalf of the Badminton World Federation, I would like to thank the IPC Governing Board for this landmark opportunity which they have given to athletes with impairments in the badminton community. Today is a dream come true for so many talented competitors who have shone on the badminton courts and who have yearned to do so at the highest level of sport for para-athletes.”

Meanwhile, Asia’s top para-badminton athletes are gearing up for the 2014 Incheon Asia Para Games.  Para-badminton has been a medal event in Asia since the Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled in 1998 and many stars from the Asian continent, including Korea’s Lee Sam Seop (pictured) have said they have been dreaming of the day they could shine on the Paralympic stage.

Click here to read the BWF press release on the International Paralympic Committee decision.

Badzine will be on site in Incheon later this month to bring you live photos and reports from the para-badminton event at the 2014 Asian Para Games.