| Rajiv Kumar Rai | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Rajiv Kumar Rai | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | February 3, 1983 Lawrenceville, Georgia, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Handedness | Right | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Tony Gunawan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BWF profile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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]
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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Rao, Sam (August 5, 2008). "Another Indian-American books berth". The Indian Express. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- ^ "Men's Singles Round of 32". NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on August 21, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- ^ Miller, Jeff (August 11, 2008). "O.C. badminton drought continues with Rai loss". The Orange County Register. Retrieved February 23, 2013.