In recent years we’ve seen Ygor Coelho compete on the global BWF badminton tour. But apart from him, we have not seen but a few Brazilian badminton players compete on the world tour. Oliver Shepherd takes a look at how badminton is faring in Brazil.
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This story will give you a unique insight into:
- How and where badminton is played in Brazil
- Some of the top badminton players from Brazil
- Mentions of the most prominent badminton clubs in Brazil
- What is being done to grow the sport of badminton in the country
- How junior badminton players are developing as compared to other South American countries
- What is Badminton Brazil doing to develop badminton in the country?
Badminton in Brazil standing in Pan America
Brazil has done relatively well at the regional Pan American Games. As of 2022, they were placed as the fourth most successful country in the Pan-American region with 15 medal points – only 5 medal points behind Peru in third place.
The Rio favela kid Ygor Coelho made it onto the big badminton scene
Ygor Coelho’s story is unique and encouraging. He grew up in a Rio favela but was encouraged to join a badminton program. Interestingly, samba dance was used to develop players’ footwork. About that, Coelho has said:
“samba is the perfect training for badminton and helps develop a player’s rhythm and agility. Dance has a lot of similar things to badminton — we dance on the court. I think it helps me to get the rhythm and play at different speeds and movements”
Ygor became Brazil’s first-ever Olympian in badminton at the 2016 Rio Games. And he is working towards qualifying for the 2024 Olympics. Today, Ygor lives in Denmark from where he travels the world to compete internationally.
