May 26, 2024
Rachel Chung claimed double gold at the Bahrain Para Badminton International 2024.
The SH6 shuttler won women’s singles gold before defeating Jack Shepherd in the doubles.
Shephard returned from the Middle East with two medals in the SH6 men’s singles competition.
Chung was undefeated all week in Manama, dropping just 16 points during the women’s singles tournament.
The Liverpudlian beat Poland’s Daria Bujnica 21-2 21-7 before beating Ukraine’s Anastasia Zavali 21-5 21-2 21-2.
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Chung defeated Nina Kozlova 21-16 21-13 to set up a final against Olivia Smigel, with tougher challenges to come.
Chung lost to Poland’s Schuttler in the final at the European Games last summer but produced a superb performance in Bahrain to win both games 21-14 21-14 to claim her first gold of the week.
Para-badminton head coach Richard Morris said: “Rachel’s potential was a banana skin and she will be the first to admit it.
“I think that was the last time they played when they lost to Szmigel in the Euro Cup final in August last year.
“So to play her again, Rachel was dominant from start to finish, there were a few peaks and dips, but the all-rounder Rachel put in a real performance to win comfortably in two games, which was fantastic.
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Chung had already played Szmigel in doubles with Shepherd earlier in the week.
The duo began their campaign against Szmigel and Bujnica, who won 21-5 21-6 against Imad Adil Al-Dawahir and Abdallah al-Seif of Egypt and Kuwait 21-2 21-6.
Against Canada’s Anthony Vibol Hai and Emeline Langelier, Chung and Shepherd won 21-5 21-11 to advance to their third consecutive final.
There, they met Hong Kong’s Choi Wing Ke and Chu Man Kai, winning gold in 24 minutes, winning 21-11 21-12.
“The pair have become a real partnership over the last six months,” Morris added. “They really bonded as a team.
“I save this for Boxy. [James Boxall, assistant coach] Back home I put a lot of time and effort into them and myself behind the court.
“We’ve become a true team of four which means we have more depth, we’re more versatile, we can adapt and stay together and not fall apart.
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“It means we don’t have any bad games anymore, we are under positive pressure and we are expecting that from Spain.
“We had to face all kinds of opposition and we did really well against each of them. I think hard work pays off.”
Shepherd’s return to competitive men’s singles competition got off to a good start with silver in Manama.
A comfortable win over Group H and A Alsife gave Hong Kong’s Chun Yim Wong a tough challenge as Shepherd beat the world No.8 21-17 24-21.
Shepherd defeated Langelier 21-7 21-9 in the last four games to advance to the final without losing a game.
He came close to taking the opener against world No. 2 Chou Man Kai 24-22 21-5 at the show, but failed to close out the match in three tries.
The entire Para team is now preparing for the 4 Nations Para Badminton International this year at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow in June.