Raju Rai
Personal information
Birth nameRajiv Kumar Rai
CountryUnited States
Born (1983-02-03) February 3, 1983
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 place2003 Santo DomingoMixed doubles
Pan Am Championships
Gold medal – first place2005 BridgetownMen's doubles
Silver medal – second place2005 BridgetownMixed team
Bronze medal – third place2005 BridgetownMen's singles
BWF profile

Rajiv Kumar "Raju" 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.

Achievements

Pan American Games

Mixed doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2003 UASD Pavilion,
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic		 United States Mesinee Mangkalakiri Canada Philippe Bourret
Canada Denyse Julien		 8–15, 7–15 Bronze Bronze

Pan Am Championships

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2005 Bridgetown, Barbados Canada Andrew Dabeka 2–15, 9–15 Bronze Bronze

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2005 Bridgetown, Barbados United States Bob Malaythong Canada Mike Beres
Canada William Milroy		 11–15, 15–8, 15–6 Gold Gold

BWF Grand Prix

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 United States Halim Haryanto United States Howard Bach
United States Bob Malaythong		 14–21, 19–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
  BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2008 Nigeria International Portugal Alexandre Paixão 13–21, 14–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2008 Giraldilla International Belgium Yuhan Tan 19–21, 19–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2007 Hellas International Germany Marc Zwiebler 14–21, 16–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2007 Carebaco International France Brice Leverdez 12–21, 17–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2004 Carebaco International Canada Andrew Dabeka 9–15, 7–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2005 Southern Carolina International United States Bob Malaythong United States Howard Bach
United States Tony Gunawan		 0–1 Retired 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2004 Carebaco International United States Bob Malaythong Canada Alexandre Tremblay
Canada Tom Lucas Picher		 15–5, 15–7 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2004 New Zealand International United States Bob Malaythong Japan Shuichi Nakao
Japan Shuichi Sakamoto		 3–15, 15–10, 12–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2005 Southern Carolina International United States Mesinee Mangkalakiri Canada Philippe Bourret
Canada Denyse Julien		 6–15, 9–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament
  BWF Future Series tournament

References

  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. 1 2 "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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