Badminton Brazil Association (CBBd) was one of the winners of the BWF Member Associations Awards 2024, awarded during the recent BWF AGM 2024, held in Chengdu, China.
CBBd won the BWF Inclusion Award 2024 for being an association that has developed Para badminton at other levels this year, ensuring the inclusion of our athletes with an Under-23 Para Badminton Championships.
Brazil was one of the first countries in the Pan America region to establish Para badminton and has enjoyed success at regional, international and Paralympic Games levels. Despite a large player-base, the federation identified a gap in the number of young athletes involved in the sport, with an average national team player age of 35 or older. To encourage younger athletes, the federation established the Diego Mota under-23 Para Badminton Championships, named after a Brazilian Para badminton classifier who passed away suddenly in a motor vehicle accident in 2020.
The championships showcases the best of inclusion and are played in the same venue and at the same time as senior national events. Today Brazil has an impressive 54 under-23 Para badminton players competing nationally, with five of these under-23 athletes recently medalling at the 2023 Para Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
Photo Credit: BadmintonPhoto
