Para-badminton star athlete Yasmina Eissa from Loughborough University has her sights firmly set on the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
The current political science, philosophy and economics student has had a busy 2023 as preparations are underway for the flagship sporting event in the French capital.
Between May and August, Egyptian-born Yasmina competed in level 1 and 2 international para-badminton competitions in Thailand, Bahrain, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The highlight of her achievement was a gold medal in the SH6 women’s doubles at the Canadian Para Badminton International in Ottawa. In combination with partner Jayci Simon from the USA, Yasmina took gold with a narrow three-set victory over Bujnicka & Szmigiel from Poland and Cai Yi-Lin & Wu Yu-Yen from Chinese Taipei.
Yasmina and Jayci followed up their win in Canada with a silver medal at the 4 Nations Para Badminton in Sheffield earlier this month. Just a short drive down the M1 from Yasmina’s current home in Loughborough, she put in another strong performance, with her only defeat coming against Rubi Milagros Fernandez Vargos and Chai Saeyang from Peru and Thailand respectively.
Yasmina also performed well in the singles, reaching the quarter-finals and pushing former English world champion Rachel Choong in a three-set battle, which she ultimately narrowly lost 21:18, 16:21, 21:19.
Speaking to Loughborough Sport, Yasmina said: “I was really happy with my second gold medal ever in Canada and then went on to win silver in the 4 Nations with a good performance – especially with my partnership with Jayci still going on in the early stages .
“In the 4 Nations Singles I was able to keep up with the number one seed in group play and then eventually got eliminated in the quarterfinals, pushing a former multiple world champion to three games, with the final score of the game being 21-19.”
Yasmina will now continue her preparations for the Paralympic Games, scheduled to take place from August 28, 2024 to Sun, September 8, 2024.
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