After almost one year of no competition, the announcement of the 2021 Para badminton calendar has been greeted with excitement by the playing community.

Here are some of their thoughts about getting back into tournament mode.

“All the training and hard work is geared towards competitions and winning medals, so to have the opportunity to do this again after such a long break is very exciting. Can’t wait to get going!”

Dan Bethell (England)

“(I have a) hunger for winning competitions after such a long break.”

Cheah Liek Hou (Malaysia)

“I realise how wonderful it is to be able to hold a tournament after it became impossible. I’d like to compete with a sense of gratitude to the people who organise the tournaments.”

Daiki Kajiwara (Japan)

“Hats off to BWF. Obviously, this event will be a big challenge for BWF and organisers. We all need to cooperate with the organisers and appreciate them. Seeing the list of Para events is great. It’s a plus for me because I have the confidence that I didn’t stop (training) even during the lockdown.”

Palak Kohli (India)

“In a hurry to see how much progress we made during this year entirely devoted to training. In a hurry also to get back the competition feeling – pressure, stress, emotion, victories.”

Faustine Noel (France)

“I especially look forward to test all the things I’ve been working on at practice the last couple of months and of course to see all my friends from the other countries.”

Cathrine Rosengren (Denmark)

“I just need to start competing again. Now as the Paralympics are getting near, I hope to get as many games under my belt, win as many as possible so that I’m ready for the big day and win gold for my country.”

Krishna Nagar (India)

From the coach’s chair:

“Of course, after quite a long rest, the excitement is there. Most importantly, we need to get the players prepared and in their best form.”

Rashid Sidek (Malaysia)

“I can see the light in my players’ eyes now that BWF has announced the calendar. The new setup will have various restrictions for the purpose of ensuring the health and safety of all participants so it’s important we support BWF and the organisers.”

Gaurav Khanna (India)