Raju Rai

Rajiv Kumar "Raju" Rai (born February 3, 1983 in Lawrenceville, Georgia) 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]

Raju Rai
Personal information
Birth nameRajiv Kumar Rai
Country United States
Born (1983-02-03) February 3, 1983
Lawrenceville, Georgia, U.S.
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight180 lb (82 kg)
HandednessRight
CoachTony Gunawan
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
2003 Santo DomingoMixed doubles
Pan Am Championships
2005 BridgetownMen's doubles
2005 BridgetownMixed team
2005 BridgetownMen'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 coach 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		 Mesinee Mangkalakiri Philippe Bourret
Denyse Julien		 8–15, 7–15 Bronze

Pan Am Championships

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

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

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
  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. "USA Badminton Announces New Board of Directors". Team USA. April 14, 2009. 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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