Para-Badminton starlet, Lesley Johnstone, returned to Aberdeen last week from the Turkish Para-Badminton International event empty handed, but the defeat has not put her off her dream of competing in the Paralympic Games.
Johnstone, who has had a remarkably quick journey up the Para-Badminton pathway having only committed to the sport in 2018, was selected alongside national squad teammates Alan Oliver and Mary Wilson to attend the international events to hopefully qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics next summer where the sport has its debut.
Lesley faced an incredibly difficult opening game with mixed doubles partner, Denis Grzesiuk, where they were heavily defeated by French duo Mazur & Noel. This was then followed by a loss to Liek Huo Cheah & Katarzyna Ziebik, albeit by a far narrower margin.
She also faced very strong opposition in the women’s singles SL4 event where she faced a loss of both games to Khalimatus Sadiyah Sukohandoko. However, she came back strong in her second game to Helle Sofie Sagoy to win the 2nd game of the match.
The Scottish women’s doubles of Johnstone and Wilson saw further defeats in the women’s doubles event. However, with this being Lesley’s very first international & given the short space of time she’s been on the performance pathway, her determination and achievements are more than worthy of a great deal of admiration, and we look forward to seeing Lesley compete in her next event in Uganda.
A special thanks goes to BadmintonScotland for their support of Lesley through this quick journey!
If you, or someone you know, lives with a physical, sensory or intellectual impairment and would like to get more involved in sport, please get in touch with Alison Shaw (Regional Manager for Scottish Disability Sport) on 07828 744 848 or alison.shaw@scottishdisabilitysport.com.