Pan Am athletes won the first ever olympic/paralympic medals for the Pan Am region in badminton / Para badminton competitions.
Miles Krajewski & Jayci Simon (USA) won the silver medal in Mixed Doubles SH6 event at the Paralympic Games – Para badminton Competition.
Vitor Tavares (BRA) got the bronze medal in Men’s Singles SH6 event at the Paralympic Games – Para badminton Competition.
Living their dream
Miles & Jayci began the Mixed Doubles Competition in Group B with a victory against seeded 2 duo Solaimalai/Sumathy (IND) and despite they lost their second match against Meechai/Saeyang (THA) they reached Semifinals after a tight definition of group B in which the points obtained prevailed. In Semifinals, Krajewski/Simon defeated Solaimalai/Sumathy (IND) in a 3-games-match (17-21, 21-14, 21-13) reaching the final where they lost againsLin/Li (CHN) in straight games.
Never give up
Despite starting the competition with two consecutive defeats (against Jack Shepard and Charles Noakes) in his first group matches, Vitor qualified as second in the group C after defeating Lin Naili (CHN) and get a favorable score in the final table. In Quarter Finals, Vitor defeated Miles Krajewski in an exciting 3-games-match (21-12,10-21,23-21) taking revenge of the last Pan Am Games final. Despite losing in the semi-finals against Charles Noakes (FRA), Vitor recovered and defeated Chu Man Kai (HKG), who had won the silver medal in the previous edition, in 3 games fullfill of emotions (23-21, 16-21, 21-12), winning the bronze medal match.
“This is very important for me, also for my team and for Brazil. This is historic. I had lost two matches at the beginning but I had to dig deep and put my mind into this as badminton is such a mental game and now I am a Paralympic bronze medallist. This is big.” – Vitor Tavares (SH6)
Pan Am Players
Outstading participation was reached by all Pan Am Para badminton athletes during Paris 2024, Pilar Jauregui (WH2), Jaime Aranguiz (WH2), Giuliana Poveda (SH6), Rubi Fernandez (SH6), Yuka Chokyu (WH1, Daniele Torres (WH1), Rogerio Oliveira (SL4).
“I had some very interesting and good matches in group stage. The two opponents I lost to were the ones who won the silver and bronze medals, so I felt at peace with what I showed on the court. I’m going to keep working and training with Los Angeles in mind” – Pilar Jauregui (PER).
“It’s been incredible to be here. It’s my fourth paralympic games and my first time competing in Para badminton. I have enjoyed playing in front of a packed audience. I’m friends with Sujirat, she always has lovely things to say”- Yuka Chokyu (CAN).
“I felt excited and a bit nervous since it was my first time at the Paralympic Games. The most beautiful part was when they announced my name as I walked onto the court, and the courts and shuttles had ‘Paris 2024’ written on them – it was all amazing. It was a dream come true. I can say that I fulfilled one of my dreams, een though I didn’t win a medal, and I’m very happy about that.”- Ruby Fernandes (PER).
Congratulations to all for being part of the Pan Am Para badminton history!!!
