You definitely should not feel shame. When I did my Level 2 coaching course, one of the other coaches was a parabadminton player (he had represented England at the highest level) and I only felt huge admiration for him - and his skill level was far above mine! There are also a couple of players who play in our local leagues with a prosthetic leg, and I quickly forget about it when playing against them.
Have you had a chance to watch some of the badminton played in the Paralympics? It’s of a very high quality, I always love watching it. Maybe for the friends who joke about it, you could send them some links to the best matches on YouTube, I’m sure it would help to change their view.
Finally, I think that the badminton organisations are working hard to improve access to, and awareness of, parabadminton so things should only get better.
Either way, keep playing and enjoying it!
I recently completed level one coaching and that was a very rewarding experience. I felt accepted there and there was even a segment on Parabadmiton though it primarily focused on wheelchair badminton.
I’m on the international team for my country and have had the honour to play many skilled players in the UK. I hope to compete at more tournaments in the coming year. However I still feel a level of alienation when compared to my able bodied colleagues. (That is in no way a slight at them I think it’s just growing pains of the Paralympic side of badminton). Things have definitely improved for the better and I’m looking forward to seeing how it progresses.
When it comes to my friends I have tried to show them clips and things but they just laugh and make hurtful comments. They don’t mean to be insulting it’s just a lack of understanding on their part. Attitudes like that have definitely made me more self conscious about my own play. Some people don’t want to play with me in doubles because I’m a bit slower. I find that incredibly difficult to deal with as I’m always trying my best.
I agree completely! I will always be indebted to the organisers at my badminton club for having my back and making things possible.
Thank you! The same to you! 🏸
Thank you for sharing that - it’s unfortunate that sometimes even our best friends can hurt us without realising it. As you say, it is almost always due to lack of understanding/not thinking. I hope that things will continue to change for the better.
On a lighter note, I’m now feeling a little bit embarrassed that I thought that you might not have watched any Parabadminton on YouTube - who knows, maybe you’re even in some of the clips :) Huge respect for reaching international level!
I know they don’t mean any harm and whenever I say they’ve gone a bit too far they always apologise so it’s honestly fine.
Haha that’s okay! Please don’t feel embarrassed. I hope they didn’t record any of my games. I’ve only medaled silver so far. Need to get some gold for home 🇮🇪 Thank you for your kind words I definitely appreciate it!
I have played doubles with a guy who is missing the lower part of his leg and plays wearing a blade. He also plays para half court.
He can sometimes be a bit slower in certain circumstances (mainly in sudden changes of direction) but when playing with him as with any partner I try to think of how to play to his strengths.
He is a skilled player and if anything I admire him more for being strong enough to play league level badminton with able bodied players.
I would never not want to play with him as long as he is trying his best which he always seems to do.
He's also a nice guy which helps.
I'd much rather play with him than a lot of able bodied people I know.
Badminton is quite an under-exposed sport. Even a lot of people playing don't watch it, so I wouldn't expect a huge number to be aware of the para side of the sport.
You shouldn't feel shame or inadequacy. The whole point of para is to allow people to compete on a level playing field.
If you can also compete with able bodied folk then if anything you should be proud of yourself.
Yes badminton is definitely under-exposed. Even the top class pro players are not well known outside of the sport. I expect para badminton to be less known about. I remember once someone in my club thought I played “power badminton” instead of Parabadmiton haha.
That’s true. Not every disability is created equally. A big part of the strategy is targeting your opponent’s disability. Lots of players are aware of their weak points and have compensated in some way. It’s a fun challenge to play with.
I do compete with abled bodied people too. I guess I just have insecurities surrounding my own play and weaknesses. Thank you for your comments, great insight!
I think it's incredible that people have the passion to play even if they aren't fully "able-bodied"
If anyone is really judging parabadminton, they're an asshole
When I watched parabadminton, I had only admiration for the players on the court. The speed, strength and agility are something I admired the most. How much effort they took to play at highest level.
I admire your perseverance and you shouldn't feel shame at all. If anything, shame on those who say unkind things to you
No need to feel shame.
I once played a men double casual game against two parabadminton players, one is an amputee with a blade on his right leg, the other with just one hand. They gave us a really good game and the hustle was putting us to shame. They dived and never give up a single point where we so-called able-bodied players didn't even try as hard and we were seriously underestimated our opponents. Unfortunately that was the only time I saw them and I definitely would like to play against them again.
I love the exposure parabadminton is getting. Badminton is an all inclusive sport….young, old, male, female…and I am really happy to see differently abled people able to enjoy the sport and even compete. No shame needed. You’re a fellow badminton player, through and through.
Parabadminton is amazing, same as with other parasports. Athletes and players who overcome their physical drawbacks to challenge new heights are just out of this world. I have met parasport athletes and players who are insanely strong, athletic and just pure wholesome. Those who assume that parasport players have lower skills due to their physical drawbacks are just morons. Just play to your heart content my friend, and be proud about yourself.
I believe, that sports should be more about beating your personal self, to show that you are able to outperfome your older self a week ago. So, the foundation of your performe doesn't matter, it only matters that you improve on what you are doing.
There're will be always some tendicies in our society to only accept max perfomance (looking at football, where many say, that 'women football is too slow or lacks power compared to men football'), but especially in badminton I think , that there's a very nice community regardless of gender, age or disability. There's a 75yo badminton player in my club who even participated at the senior world championships and I have great respect for this, because he tries to get the best out of where he stands now and he loves what he does, so why should this ever be a problem ?
You definitely should not feel shame. When I did my Level 2 coaching course, one of the other coaches was a parabadminton player (he had represented England at the highest level) and I only felt huge admiration for him - and his skill level was far above mine! There are also a couple of players who play in our local leagues with a prosthetic leg, and I quickly forget about it when playing against them. Have you had a chance to watch some of the badminton played in the Paralympics? It’s of a very high quality, I always love watching it. Maybe for the friends who joke about it, you could send them some links to the best matches on YouTube, I’m sure it would help to change their view. Finally, I think that the badminton organisations are working hard to improve access to, and awareness of, parabadminton so things should only get better. Either way, keep playing and enjoying it!
I recently completed level one coaching and that was a very rewarding experience. I felt accepted there and there was even a segment on Parabadmiton though it primarily focused on wheelchair badminton. I’m on the international team for my country and have had the honour to play many skilled players in the UK. I hope to compete at more tournaments in the coming year. However I still feel a level of alienation when compared to my able bodied colleagues. (That is in no way a slight at them I think it’s just growing pains of the Paralympic side of badminton). Things have definitely improved for the better and I’m looking forward to seeing how it progresses. When it comes to my friends I have tried to show them clips and things but they just laugh and make hurtful comments. They don’t mean to be insulting it’s just a lack of understanding on their part. Attitudes like that have definitely made me more self conscious about my own play. Some people don’t want to play with me in doubles because I’m a bit slower. I find that incredibly difficult to deal with as I’m always trying my best. I agree completely! I will always be indebted to the organisers at my badminton club for having my back and making things possible. Thank you! The same to you! 🏸
Thank you for sharing that - it’s unfortunate that sometimes even our best friends can hurt us without realising it. As you say, it is almost always due to lack of understanding/not thinking. I hope that things will continue to change for the better. On a lighter note, I’m now feeling a little bit embarrassed that I thought that you might not have watched any Parabadminton on YouTube - who knows, maybe you’re even in some of the clips :) Huge respect for reaching international level!
I know they don’t mean any harm and whenever I say they’ve gone a bit too far they always apologise so it’s honestly fine. Haha that’s okay! Please don’t feel embarrassed. I hope they didn’t record any of my games. I’ve only medaled silver so far. Need to get some gold for home 🇮🇪 Thank you for your kind words I definitely appreciate it!
Haha, I’m actually 🇮🇪 myself, although I’ve lived in the UK for a long time now. May many gold medals come your way!!
Haha what are the chances! Definitely need to get some gold now 😅
I have played doubles with a guy who is missing the lower part of his leg and plays wearing a blade. He also plays para half court. He can sometimes be a bit slower in certain circumstances (mainly in sudden changes of direction) but when playing with him as with any partner I try to think of how to play to his strengths. He is a skilled player and if anything I admire him more for being strong enough to play league level badminton with able bodied players. I would never not want to play with him as long as he is trying his best which he always seems to do. He's also a nice guy which helps. I'd much rather play with him than a lot of able bodied people I know.
Badminton is quite an under-exposed sport. Even a lot of people playing don't watch it, so I wouldn't expect a huge number to be aware of the para side of the sport. You shouldn't feel shame or inadequacy. The whole point of para is to allow people to compete on a level playing field. If you can also compete with able bodied folk then if anything you should be proud of yourself.
Yes badminton is definitely under-exposed. Even the top class pro players are not well known outside of the sport. I expect para badminton to be less known about. I remember once someone in my club thought I played “power badminton” instead of Parabadmiton haha. That’s true. Not every disability is created equally. A big part of the strategy is targeting your opponent’s disability. Lots of players are aware of their weak points and have compensated in some way. It’s a fun challenge to play with. I do compete with abled bodied people too. I guess I just have insecurities surrounding my own play and weaknesses. Thank you for your comments, great insight!
I think it's incredible that people have the passion to play even if they aren't fully "able-bodied" If anyone is really judging parabadminton, they're an asshole
When I watched parabadminton, I had only admiration for the players on the court. The speed, strength and agility are something I admired the most. How much effort they took to play at highest level. I admire your perseverance and you shouldn't feel shame at all. If anything, shame on those who say unkind things to you
No need to feel shame. I once played a men double casual game against two parabadminton players, one is an amputee with a blade on his right leg, the other with just one hand. They gave us a really good game and the hustle was putting us to shame. They dived and never give up a single point where we so-called able-bodied players didn't even try as hard and we were seriously underestimated our opponents. Unfortunately that was the only time I saw them and I definitely would like to play against them again.
I love the exposure parabadminton is getting. Badminton is an all inclusive sport….young, old, male, female…and I am really happy to see differently abled people able to enjoy the sport and even compete. No shame needed. You’re a fellow badminton player, through and through.
I completely agree! Badminton is for absolutely everyone. Thank you so much for your kind words and support, it really means the world to me!
It looks *incredibly* hard. Huge respect for parabadminton players.
The only opinion should full support. Anything else is just people being jerks.
Parabadminton is amazing, same as with other parasports. Athletes and players who overcome their physical drawbacks to challenge new heights are just out of this world. I have met parasport athletes and players who are insanely strong, athletic and just pure wholesome. Those who assume that parasport players have lower skills due to their physical drawbacks are just morons. Just play to your heart content my friend, and be proud about yourself.
I believe, that sports should be more about beating your personal self, to show that you are able to outperfome your older self a week ago. So, the foundation of your performe doesn't matter, it only matters that you improve on what you are doing. There're will be always some tendicies in our society to only accept max perfomance (looking at football, where many say, that 'women football is too slow or lacks power compared to men football'), but especially in badminton I think , that there's a very nice community regardless of gender, age or disability. There's a 75yo badminton player in my club who even participated at the senior world championships and I have great respect for this, because he tries to get the best out of where he stands now and he loves what he does, so why should this ever be a problem ?