Paralympian Daniel Bethell hopes to win gold after taking the para-badminton silver in Tokyo

With the Paralympic Games beginning this week there are many stories to follow of newcomers and veterans alike. Some of the sports seeing competition are not new to the games, but have a brief history in the Paralympics and it was just three years ago that parabadminton came to this level.

In its inaugural Games in Tokyo, the gold medal in the SL3 singles was won by Pramrod Bhagat of India, but Team Great Britain's Daniel Bethell took the silver medal. The Huntingdon native was 25 at the time and began his competitive career in 2013. The 28-year-old Bethel, who has a lower limb disability associated with cerebral palsy is ranked number one in the world as of November 2022.

Daniel Bethell is going for gold at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games

According to the team GB Paralympics website, the finals of the Tokyo competition in this sport had an "eerie feel inside the arena, with COVID-19 barring fans or family from the stands." It is for this reason, says Bethell, that "it's going to just be a surreal experience with friends and family coming out." He also says that he thinks Paris will be "so much better."

He first got inspired by the Paralympics while watching the Beijing Paralympics. Bethel describes the experience that came just one year before he began competing:

"It was the first time I'd really watched para-sport, particularly at that level, and just seeing these amazing athletes with my disability or other disabilities doing these incredible sporting feats, I just really wanted to be a part of it."

- Daniel Bethell

His aim for these games is to "go one better than last year and get the gold and to have friends and family there this time." Since this is the first Paralympics in Europe since London 2012, "it's going to feel like a home Games, so it'll be really special."