Rajiv Kumar Rai | |
Birth Name: | Rajiv Kumar Rai |
Birth Date: | 3 February 1983 |
Birth Place: | Lawrenceville, Georgia, United States |
Height: | 5 ft 10 in |
Weight: | 180lb |
Country: | United States |
Handedness: | Right |
Coach: | Tony Gunawan |
Bwf Id: | E1BB3131-CEF6-4C16-91B9-5488929C0C7E |
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. 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.[2]
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.[3] [4]
Rai is a former coach of Bellevue Badminton Club, and also, an athlete director for the U.S. national badminton team.[5] 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.
Mixed 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 |
Men'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 |
The 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
BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
BWF Grand Prix tournament
Men'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
BWF International Challenge tournament
BWF International Series tournament
BWF Future Series tournament