Rajiv Kumar Rai (born February 3, 1983) is an American badminton player of Indian descent.[1] He won a bronze medal, along with his partner Mesinee Mangkalakiri, in the mixed doubles at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.[2] Rai is also a member of Orange County Badminton Club in Anaheim, California, and is coached and trained by former Olympic doubles champion Tony Gunawan (2000), who is currently playing for the United States.[3]
| Rajiv Kumar Rai | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Rajiv Kumar Rai | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | February 3, 1983 Lawrenceville, Georgia, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Handedness | Right | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Tony Gunawan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BWF profile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rai qualified for the men's singles at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, after he was ranked sixty-eighth in the world, and awarded an entry as one of the top 38 seeded players by the Badminton World Federation. He received a bye for the second preliminary round before losing out to Finland's Ville Lång, with a score of 9–21 and 16–21.[4][5]
Rai is a former coach of Bellevue Badminton Club, and also, an athlete director for the U.S. national badminton team.[2] He, along with fellow Olympian Bob Malaythong, currently coaches the top junior players in the United States at Synergy Badminton Academy in Menlo Park, California.
Achievements
editPan American Games
editMixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | UASD Pavilion, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
 Mesinee Mangkalakiri
|
 Philippe Bourret Denyse Julien
|
8–15, 7–15 |  Bronze
|
Pan Am Championships
editMen's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Bridgetown, Barbados | Andrew Dabeka
|
2–15, 9–15 | Bronze
|
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Bridgetown, Barbados | Bob Malaythong
|
Mike Beres William Milroy
|
11–15, 15–8, 15–6 |  Gold
|
BWF Grand Prix
editThe BWF Grand Prix has two level such as Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It is a series of badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007.
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | U.S Open | Halim Haryanto
|
Howard Bach Bob Malaythong
|
14–21, 19–21 |  Runner-up
|
- BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
- BWF Grand Prix tournament
BWF International Challenge/Series
editMen's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Nigeria International |  Alexandre Paixão
|
13–21, 14–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2008 | Giraldilla International |  Yuhan Tan
|
19–21, 19–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2007 | Hellas International |  Marc Zwiebler
|
14–21, 16–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2007 | Carebaco International |  Brice Leverdez
|
12–21, 17–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2004 | Carebaco International | Andrew Dabeka
|
9–15, 7–15 | Runner-up
|
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Southern Carolina International | Bob Malaythong
|
Howard Bach Tony Gunawan
|
0–1 Retired | Runner-up
|
| 2004 | Carebaco International | Bob Malaythong
|
Alexandre Tremblay Tom Lucas Picher
|
15–5, 15–7 |  Winner
|
| 2004 | New Zealand International | Bob Malaythong
|
 Shuichi Nakao Shuichi Sakamoto
|
3–15, 15–10, 12–15 | Runner-up
|
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Southern Carolina International | Mesinee Mangkalakiri
|
Philippe Bourret Denyse Julien
|
6–15, 9–15 | Runner-up
|
- BWF International Challenge tournament
- BWF International Series tournament
- BWF Future Series tournament
References
edit- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Raju Rai". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- ^ a b "USA Badminton Announces New Board of Directors". Team USA. April 14, 2009. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- ^ Rao, Sam (August 5, 2008). "Another Indian-American books berth". The Indian Express. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- ^ "Men's Singles Round of 32". NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on August 21, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- ^ Miller, Jeff (August 11, 2008). "O.C. badminton drought continues with Rai loss". The Orange County Register. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
External links
edit- Raju Rai at Team USA (archived)
- Raju Rai at Olympics.com
- NBC 2008 Olympics profile
 | This biographical article relating to American badminton is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |