27 September 2024
Dan Bethell is already thinking about how he can make his second near-miss silver at Paris 2024 a positive.
The Tokyo silver medallist was looking to upgrade his place on the podium this time out but came up short in his quest for the ultimate prize during a nail-biting encounter with India’s Kumar Nitesh.
While still thinking about what could have been, the Bath-born badminton star is hungrier than ever to ensure the feeling does not linger as he looks ahead to brighter days.
“The main point of going to Paris was to get a medal and win gold,” he said. “I came up short and I still have a bittersweet feeling.
“Having a gold medal point, I could not have been much closer,” he added. “It’s disappointing I lost. [My medal] is the wrong colour but that gives me so much motivation for LA 2028.”
The 28-year-old is no novice to the international stage, having won ParalympicsGB’s first-ever badminton medal in Tokyo, but while the sting of defeat remains, he’s taking the positives from Paris too.
Looking back at the recent Paralympic Games Badminton England could not be prouder of all the athletes representing @TeamGB! 🇬🇧
We look back at how inspiring all our representatives were at the tournament 👏#ASportForEveryone pic.twitter.com/1xJrcIQmiM
— Badminton England (@BadmintonEnglnd) September 27, 2024
“The whole Paris experience was amazing,” he said. “The further away it gets, there is an increased feeling of pride.
“The comparison to Tokyo was huge. There were strict Covid restrictions at that Games so to have the crowds in Paris was amazing, they were so passionate about badminton. It was surreal to walk out there in front of everyone.
“One of the best parts was having family and friends there too,” he added. “We had a great British contingent in the crowd – we were always looking out for British flags.”
While Bethell missed the opening ceremony, which fell the night before his opening match, he did have the chance to fully embrace the Paralympic spirit after his own competition ended.
Bethell was in attendance as teammate Krysten Coombs upgraded bronze for silver in an electrifying match with French hope Charles Noakes.
“Krysten’s’ final was the highlight of the whole Games for me,” Bethell said. “Just sitting there and hearing the national anthem belted out – it was an unbelievable experience to see how the crowd had taken to it and how far the sport has come.
“That was the epitome of the Games, but the closing ceremony gave me a chance to reflect on how proud I was to be in Paris and be a Paralympian too.”
Paralympic Games 2024
Bethell and his team are on a well-earned training break but he believes time away from the sport has given him the chance to reflect on the hard-fought journey that carried him to Paris.
“Just off the back of Tokyo and losing the final there, that was hard to take,” he said. “I bounced back from that nicely and had a really strong three-year run – I only lost two matches in that three-year stint.
“It’s just unfortunate those were in the World Championship and Paralympic finals,” he added. “I was in the form of my life, I went unbeaten for 18 months to two years and was really proud of the build-up and journey. I know I worked hard.”
An invitation to Downing Street meant the party did not stop as Bethell and his fellow Paralympic and Olympic peers landed back on home turf, as a select number joined Prime Minister Keir Starmer for celebrations at No. 10.
“I had an email saying ‘The Prime Minister invites Daniel Bethell to a reception at Downing Street’ and initially I thought it was spam,” he said.
“There were 50-60 athletes across the Olympics and Paralympics there, and it was amazing to go through the iron gates and then walk through the door that is so famous.
What a year it’s been for Badminton in England 🤩
We’re so proud of all the amazing achievements since launching our strategy last year and we can’t wait for what lies ahead!https://t.co/M1U9AUjETk
— Badminton England (@BadmintonEnglnd) September 26, 2024
“I was looking around to see if there was a memento, but the security was really tight,” he added. “As soon as we got through the door, we had to hand over a phone straight away and there were eyes everywhere.
“It was nice to meet Olympic athletes and trade notes. I was lucky enough to meet Keir Starmer and he reiterated how proud the country was of all of us. That meant a lot to me.”
After a summer of work – and some well-deserved play, next up on the agenda for Bethell is a move from Sheffield back to his home city of Bath, where he will build towards LA 2028.
“I used to train out of Bath University before I moved up to Sheffield,” he said. “I will still work very closely with the programme in Sheffield but the plan is to build into and qualify for LA.
“I have heard rumours of how big it is going to be,” he added. “Someone even told me there will be three different villages, so I can see the USA doing it bigger.
“We saw a couple of players from America in Paris and they had the same kit as the Olympic team, so there is more investment going into it. I am sure they will want to put on a show.”