The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games are round the corner, and we look at the top stars in each category.

Here are the prominent names to look out for in the two Wheelchair classes (WH1 and WH2) at Paris 2024, due to start Thursday 29 August 2024.

Liu Yu Tong (China, WH2)

Played only one tournament this year – and she ended up winning all three of her events (women’s singles, women’s doubles with Yin Meng Lu and mixed doubles with Qu Zi Mo). Incredibly, the 20-year-old defending champion has never lost a women’s singles match.

Sarina Satomi (Japan, WH1)

Picked up a double on home soil at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Has dominated the category, but was surprised in the semifinals of the Para Badminton World Championships 2024 by Yin Meng Lu and the Spanish PB International-1 by Sujirat Pookkham. She regrouped and avenged her loss to Pookkham at the 4 Nations PB International in June.

Qu Zi Mo (China, WH1)

Triple titlist at the Para Badminton World Championships 2024 and one of the most prolific Para badminton players. Qu Zi Mo’s last singles defeat was four years ago. He was a double titlist at Tokyo 2020 and has since then won a string of titles in singles and doubles (with Mai Jianpeng).

Daiki Kajiwara (Japan, WH2)

The defending champion in singles has dominated WH2 singles. He heads to Paris having won all four singles events this year, including the Para Badminton World Championships 2024.

Kim Jung Jun (Korea, MS WH2)

The 45-year-old was the first big star of Para badminton, but in recent years has had to yield to younger athletes like Daiki Kajiwara and Chan Ho Yuen Daniel. Nevertheless, he is a frequent figure in semifinals and finals in both singles and doubles.

Chan Ho Yuen Daniel (Hong Kong China, MS WH2)

The articulate Hong Kong China player has announced this to be his last tournament. Bronze medallist last time, and having won the Bahrain PB International in May, Chan will expect to go deep in the draw.

They Said It

“After Tokyo 2020, I’ve been ready for three years… I want gold in both singles and doubles!” – Daiki Kajiwara