Para-badminton is a variant of badminton for athletes with a range of physical disabilities. Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the main governing body for para-badminton starting from June 2011. The sport was governed by Para Badminton World Federation (PBWF) until a unanimous decision to join BWF during a meeting in Dortmund in June 2011. [1]
Players are classified to six [2] different classes determined by BWF:
BWF organizes the bi-annual Para-badminton World Championships in odd numbered years and continental championships in even numbered years. [3] Para-badminton also features in other multi sports events like the Asian Para Games [4] and ASEAN Para Games.
Para-badminton will also feature at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. [5]
Paralympic football consists of adaptations of the sport of association football for athletes with a physical disability. These sports are typically played using International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) rules, with modifications to the field of play, equipment, numbers of players, and other rules as required to make the game suitable for the athletes
Wheelchair rugby is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practiced in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic sport.
The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2020, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 539 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about 80 events. The number and kinds of events may change from one Paralympic Games to another.
4.5-point player is a disability sport classification for wheelchair basketball. Players in this class tend to have normal trunk movement, few problems with side-to-side movements, and ability to reach to the side of their chair. Players generally have a below-knee amputation, or some other partial single-leg dysfunction. This classification is for players with minimal levels of disability. In some places, there is a class beyond this called 5-point player for players with no disabilities.
T35 is a disability sport classification for disability athletics' running competitions. It includes people who have coordination impairments such as hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis. This includes people with cerebral palsy. The classification is used at the Paralympic Games. The corresponding F35 classification includes club and discus throw, shot put, and javelin.
Disability sports classification is a system that allows for fair competition between people with different types of disabilities.
ARST is a Paralympic archery classification. It is a standing class. This class includes Les Autres sportspeople. People from this class compete in the sport at the Paralympic Games. Some people in this class can use stools or have an assistant nock their arrows. Classification is handled by FITA – International Archery Federation.
Para-snowboarding classification is the classification system for para-snowboarding. The sport originally called Adaptive Snowboard is now practiced by hundreds of athletes around the world. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) defines three classes: SB-LL for athletes with a physical impairment affecting one or both legs, and SB-UL for athletes with a physical impairment affecting one or both arms who compete standing. The sport made its official Winter Paralympic debut in the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.
Para-equestrian classification is a system for para-equestrian sport is a graded system based on the degree of physical or visual disability and handled at the international level by the FEI. The sport has eligible classifications for people with physical and vision disabilities. Groups of eligible riders include The sport is open to competitors with impaired muscle power, athetosis, impaired passive range of movement, hypertonia, limb deficiency, ataxia, leg length difference, short stature, and vision impairment. They are grouped into five different classes to allow fair competition. These classes are Grade I, Grade II, Grade III, Grade IV, and Grade V(Grade Names Changed as of Jan 2017). The para-equestrian classification does not consider the gender of the rider, as equestrines compete in mixed gender competitions.
Paracanoe classification is the classification system for paracanoe. It consists of three categories KL1, KL2 and KL3. Paracanoe will be included for the first time at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. The sport is governed by the International Canoe Federation.
Para-equestrian is an equestrian sport governed by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), and includes two competitive events: One is para-equestrian dressage, which is conducted under the same basic rules as conventional dressage, but with riders divided into different competition grades based on their functional abilities. The other is para-equestrian driving, which operates under the same basic rules as combined driving but places competitors in various grades based on their functional abilities.
LW10 is a para-alpine and para-Nordic sit-skiing classification for skiers who cannot sit up without support. For international skiing competitions, classification is conducted by IPC Alpine Skiing and IPC Nordic Skiing, while national federations such as Alpine Canada handle classification for domestic competitions.
The Para-Badminton World Championships is an individual bi-annual event organized by the BWF. The highest ranked para-badminton players compete in six Sport Classes in five categories. The championships was organized under Para Badminton World Federation (PBWF) before it decided to join with BWF in June 2011.
LA3 is a Les Autres sport classification is a wheelchair sport classification for a sportsperson with a disability that impacts their locomotor function. People in this class have normal trunk function, good sitting balance, and functional upper limbs. They have limited use of their lower limbs.
LA6 is a Les Autres sport classification is an ambulatory sport classification for a sportsperson with a disability that impacts their locomotor function. People in this class have a minimal locomotor disability that tends to impact one of their upper limbs or knees. The class includes people with arthritis and osteoporosis, or ankylosis of the knee.
Wheelchair sport classification is a system designed to allow fair competition between people of different disabilities, and minimize the impact of a person's specific disability on the outcome of a competition. Wheelchair sports is associated with spinal cord injuries, and includes a number of different types of disabilities including paraplegia, quadriplegia, muscular dystrophy, post-polio syndrome and spina bifida. The disability must meet minimal body function impairment requirements. Wheelchair sport and sport for people with spinal cord injuries is often based on the location of lesions on the spinal cord and their association with physical disability and functionality.
Qualification for badminton at the 2020 Summer Paralympics begins on 1 January 2019 to 16 May 2021. There are 90 expected slots for the sport across fourteen medal events.
Elizabeth Mwesigwa is a Ugandan para-badminton player and she is ranked as the country's number one in the SL3 category. She won a gold medal at Uganda's para-badminton international in 2018. As of February 2020, she is ranked 12 worldwide in the Women's para-badminton SL3 Category by the Badminton World Federation.
Daniel Bethell is a British Para-badminton player. He has a lower limb disability and played his first tournament in 2013. He won silver at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. Bethell is currently ranked world number one in para-badminton men’s singles SL3.
Badminton at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, France will be played at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena from 29 August to 2 September. There will be sixteen events taking place, two more events than the previous Games: seven events for men and women and two mixed doubles events.