Comments from ParalympicsGB para badminton player Daniel Bethell following this morning’s session.
Daniel Bethell
Result: won 21-9, 21-4 in men’s SL3 singles second group game against Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara
Age: 28
Hometown: Bath
“I take a lot of confidence from that. Just getting in, playing my shots, not making many errors and being solid is the key in half-court singles. I really feel like I did that. You can’t go into the Paralympic Games thinking it’s just another tournament, because it’s not. We’ve got a big crowd here and the media attention is completely different to what I’m used to. The adrenaline is high going out onto court when the crowd gets going and you need to be calm, you need to be the calmest person in the room and I feel like I’ve got the hang of that in that match. I was really enjoying it by the end, I was loving it. The atmosphere was fantastic.
“The French crowds are so passionate about badminton and they’re among the best crowds in the world, I think any athlete would say that, so to have them here at the Paralympics and they’re clearly really getting into it is good for the sport and adds to the whole event."
On being watched by former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp:
“It was amazing. Klopp was in the crowd watching and gave me a smile and a thumbs up. He’s such a legend in the world of sport so to have him here supporting para badminton is great for the sport. It’s bringing great publicity and he’s such a good advocate for us and for the sport. All my friends were asking about Klopp rather than how my match was, they were definitely more interested in that. All the other ParalympicsGB athletes were asking what it was like to meet him. It’s great that it brings that attention to the sport and the Paralympics.
“He’s such a nice guy, he’s so smiley and friendly. I’m not the biggest football fan in the world but it was great to meet him. He’s a passionate para badminton fan. It’s great that he’s come back and hopefully he’ll be here for the rest of the tournament. He’s my good luck charm so I’ll ask him to stay.
“I need to stick to my normal day in and day out routine. Yes it’s a different tournament feel but the basics of what we do to prepare for a match stays exactly the same. I’ll do some recovery, go back to the village and relax and prepare for my match tomorrow.”
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