Player Spotlight: Daniel Bethell

Daniel Bethell is set to represent Team GB in Paris in just a few weeks time, but how has his Para Badminton Championship campaign been going? Playing for the first time this morning against Mathieu Thomas of France, Bethell had a confident game. Winning 21-6 in his first round and 21-7 in the second, the Tokyo silver medalist made it clear that he is not here to mess around and is aiming for that gold medal when he goes to Paris. Bethell played his second game this afternoon against India’s Dinesh Rajaiah winning in a similar style as he did earlier on in the day. Despite going two points behind in the opening round, Bethell brought it back and won his first round comfortably 21-7, only allowing Rajaiah to win one point here and there. The second round went even better than the first for Bethell as he dominated the match and beat Rajaiah 21-5.

Reflecting on both his matches, Bethell said “I’ve had two really good games, two tough opponents. I executed both games exactly how I wanted to.” Having been selected for Team GB ahead of Paris, Bethell is projected to win the gold medal that he missed out on back in Tokyo. When asked about this Bethell said “I’ve had a really good qualifying year, obviously qualifying number one in the Paris rankings is every player’s goal at the start of qualification so to have done that is extra special. I’m definitely feeling good about my chances and going for gold.”

Coming first in the standings of Men’s Singles SL 3 Group A, Bethell will play again in the tournament and will provide plenty more exciting matches throughout the week.