Prakash Vijayanath (born 7 November 1994) is a South African badminton player.[2][3]

Prakash Vijayanath
Personal information
Country South Africa
Born (1994-11-07) 7 November 1994 (age 30)
Madurai, India[1]
ResidenceDublin, Ireland
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight73 kg (161 lb)
Men's singles & doubles
Highest ranking137 (MS 26 November 2015)
409 (MD 15 June 2017)
243 (XD 17 May 2012)
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  South Africa
All-Africa Games
Silver medal – second place 2015 Brazzaville Men's singles
Silver medal – second place 2015 Brazzaville Mixed team
African Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 Rose Hill Mixed team
Silver medal – second place 2013 Rose Hill Men's singles
Africa Team Championships
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rose Hill Men's team
BWF profile

Career

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Vijayanath was born in India but moved to South Africa when he was four, and started playing badminton at age six in Johannesburg.[1][4]

In 2013, he was selected among the 14 best African players to be a member of the Road to Rio Project organised by the BWF and Badminton Confederation of Africa, to provide financial and technical support to African players and the lead-up to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.[5] He received a Sport Scholarship, supported by Trinity's Global Relations Office studying Computer Science and Business in Trinity College, Dublin. Alongside his studies, he trained at the Badminton Ireland Academy with the Irish high performance squad based at Marino under the guidance of coach Daniel Magee.[6][7][8] In August 2013, he won the mixed team gold medal and the men's singles silver medal at the African Badminton Championships.[9] In December 2013, he was the semi-finalist at the South Africa International tournament.

In 2014, he was selected to represent South Africa badminton at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.[1][10] He became the runner-up of South Africa International in mixed doubles event with his partner Stacey Doubell and the semi-finalist of Zambia International tournament in men's singles event.[11][12]

In 2015, he was nominated for the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Athletes' Commission, to be a bridge between Africa and the global badminton community. "For the success of the BWF Athletes' Commission it is essential to have global representation. African badminton has come a long way and to keep this momentum going it is important to have the support from the global community" he said.[4][13] In February, he became the semi-finalist of Uganda International, and in August–September, he won silver medals in men's singles and mixed team events at the African Games.[14][15]

In 2018, he made his second appearance at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.[16]

Achievements

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All-Africa Games

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Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2015 Gymnase Étienne Mongha, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo   Jacob Maliekal 17–21, 17–21   Silver

African Championships

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Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2013 National Badminton Centre, Rose Hill,   Mauritius   Jacob Maliekal 13–21, 12–21   Silver

BWF International Challenge/Series

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Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2016 South Africa International   Matthew Michel   Abdelrahman Abdelhakim
  Ahmed Salah
16–21, 20–22   Runner-up

Mixed Doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2014 South Africa International   Stacey Doubell   Cameron Coetzer
  Michelle Butler-Emmett
23–25, 21–19, 15–21   Winner
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament
  BWF Future Series tournament

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Prakash Vijayanath Biography". results.glasgow2014.com. Glasgow 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Players: Prakash Vijayanath". bwfbadminton.com. Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Prakash Vijayanath Full Profile". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Indian-origin Prakash Vijaynath nominated for BWF Athletes' Commission". zeenews.india.com. Zee Media Corporation Ltd. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  5. ^ "Road to Rio". www.africa-badminton.com. Badminton Confederation of Africa. Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  6. ^ "South African Student Receives International Sports Scholarship". www.tcd.ie. Trinity College, Dublin. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Badminton Ireland Academy offers training package". www.badmintoneurope.com. Badminton Europe. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  8. ^ "Leaping towards Rio 2016". trinitynews.ie. Trinity News. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  9. ^ "African Champs - Mauritius medals but titles go west". www.badzine.net. Badzine.net. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  10. ^ "Team South Africa for Commonwealth Games announced". www.thesouthafrican.com. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  11. ^ "South Africa International 2014". bwfbadminton.com. Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  12. ^ "Zambia International 2014". bwfbadminton.com. Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  13. ^ "Nominees Athlete's Commission Elections 2015". bwfbadminton.org. Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  14. ^ "Uganda International 2015". bwfbadminton.com. Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  15. ^ "Uganda's Ekiring wins bronze medal at All Africa Games". news.xinhuanet.com. Xinhua. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Participants: Prakash Vijayanath". gc2018.com. Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
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