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.[2] 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.[3]

Rajiv Kumar Rai
Personal information
Birth nameRajiv Kumar Rai
CountryUnited States
Born (1983-02-03) February 3, 1983 (age 41)
Lawrenceville, Georgia, United States
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight180 lb (82 kg)
HandednessRight
CoachTony Gunawan
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Santo Domingo Mixed doubles
Pan Am Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Bridgetown Men's doubles
Silver medal – second place 2005 Bridgetown Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Bridgetown Men's singles
BWF profile

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.[4][5]

Rai is a former coach of Bellevue Badminton Club, and also, an athlete director for the U.S. national badminton team.[2] 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.

Achievements

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Pan American Games

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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

Pan Am Championships

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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

BWF Grand Prix

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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

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2008 U.S Open   Halim Haryanto   Howard Bach
  Bob Malaythong
14–21, 19–21   Runner-up
  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
  BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series

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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

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2005 Southern Carolina International   Mesinee Mangkalakiri   Philippe Bourret
  Denyse Julien
6–15, 9–15   Runner-up
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament
  BWF Future Series tournament

References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Raju Rai". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "USA Badminton Announces New Board of Directors". Team USA. April 14, 2009. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  3. ^ Rao, Sam (August 5, 2008). "Another Indian-American books berth". The Indian Express. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  4. ^ "Men's Singles Round of 32". NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on August 21, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  5. ^ Miller, Jeff (August 11, 2008). "O.C. badminton drought continues with Rai loss". The Orange County Register. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
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