Silver medallist Paralympian Dan Bethell: ‘Sport is for everyone – and can change your life!’

2 mins read

Friday 17 September 2021

Tags: hemiplegia, HemiHelp, sport, play, leisure

GB’s first-ever Paralympian badminton champion, Dan Bethell, is determined to use his success to inspire other children with disabilities to embrace the benefits of sport  – and has asked us to help him spread the word!

Dan, who won an incredible silver medal in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, has right-sided hemiplegia.

He says: “HemiHelp, part of the Contact family, is an amazing charity which gave myself and my family lots of support and information over the years. With their help, I want to get the word out to the next generation of Paralympians: sport has the power to positively change people’s lives, no matter what your circumstances.”

Read Dan’s diary documenting his Paralympic experience.

Need more inspiration?

Take a look at our information about sports and fitness bodies across the UK which provide opportunities for children, young people and adults with disabilities.

If your child has been inspired by Dan’s badminton success, there’s a series of disability Para-badminton festivals taking place across the country  right now – why not try it out?

  • Sheffield, 19th September
  • Cambridge, 19th September
  • Birmingham, 19th September

Find out more about England Badminton Association for Disabled EBAD and Badminton England, and make sure to follow @parabadmintongb, @officialbadmintonengland and @dannybb1996 on social media.

Contact’s guide to play and leisure

Take a look at our Holidays, Play and Leisure page which provides some information about what play, leisure, and short breaks options may be available, and where to find more information. It also  has information about arranging holidays for disabled children and details of organisations which provide grants for these types of activities.