Many of our Para Badminton athletes have recently been overseas for Para Badminton International events in Thailand and Bahrain.

There’s been plenty of tough competition on the badminton court which has provided our athletes with fantastic development experience.

First up was a trip to Southeast Asia for the Thailand Para Badminton International 2023.

Among some of the top results in Thailand include:

Kenneth Adlawan partnered with Brazilian Joao Pedro Albuquerque Oliveira and had one win and two losses to finish third in MD SL3 SL4 Group F.

Qambar Ali Akhteyari secured one win and two losses in MS WH 2 to finish third in Group C. He then paired up with India’s Nirmala Devi for the XD WH 1 WH 2, finishing fourth with three losses in Group B. Akhteyari and fellow Australian Lochan Cowper then grouped up for the MD WH 1 WH 2 finishing in third spot for Group F.

Cowper was also in action with fellow Australian Janine Watson for the XD WH 1 WH 2, the pair had three losses with one match going to three games. MS WH 1 saw two losses to end in third place in Group E.

Caitlin Dransfield in WS SL 4 ended up with a loss and win by walkover to make it through to quarter finals, but was defeated by Helle Sofie Sagoey from Norway.

Martyn Ford Paired with fellow Australian Grant Manzoney for the MD WH 1 WH 2 and ended up in final standing for Group F with two losses. In the MS WH 1, Ford had three losses to end in fourth place for Group G. Pairing with Aline De Oliveira Cabral for the XD WH 1 WH 2, the pair experienced three losses, one going to a third game to end in fourth place for Group D.

Mischa Ginns teamed up with Samir Ishani for the XD WH 1 WH 2 in Group A, the pair had three losses to finish in fourth place. In the WS WH 2 Group E Ginns had two losses and had to retire in the third.

Amonrat Jamporn had two losses in Group F of the WS SL 3 and finished third in the standings. Once back on court with American Richard Alcaraz in the XD SL3 SU5, they experienced two walkovers and one loss to finish in fourth spot for Group E.

Celine Vinot secured one win and one loss in Group A WS SL3. Vinot progressed to the Round of 16 but was beaten 11-21, 4-21 by India’s Manasi Girishchandra Joshi.

The athletes had a quick turnaround as just days later they headed to the Middle East for the Bahrain Para Badminton International 2023.

Watson and Cowper were back in action within the XD WH 1 WH 2 and made it all the way through to the quarter finals. Despite a hard-fought effort, they went down to South Korea’s Choi Jungman and Lee Sun Ae 14-21, 6-21.

Dransfield also made it through to the WS SL 4 quarter finals, but had a tough 13-21, 13-21 encounter against India’s Palak Kohli.

In the WS SL 3 quarter final Celine Vinot took on Indonesia’s Syakuroh Qonitah Ikhtia but was beaten 12-21, 9-21.

Adlawan made it through to the third round of the MS SL 3 Group H and pushed his match with Alex Santamaria Carrasco all the way to three, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Spaniard going down 24-22, 25-27, 16-21.

Akhteyari also had strong performance in the MS WH 2 Group F but was defeated by Switzerland’s Luca Olgiati 8-21, 8-21.

The athletes are now returning to Australia and will increase their preparations for the VICTOR Oceania Para Badminton Championships 2023 in Perth, followed by the Western Australian Para Badminton International.