Matthew Abela (born 18 March 1999) is a Maltese badminton player affiliated with Paola badminton club. He competed at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

Men's singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

. He is seven times Maltese National champion.

Career

Abela started playing badminton when he was 5 years old and his father, who is a coach, used to bring him to training sessions. He trained at the Paola badminton club, and entered the Maltese national team since 2011. He won his first U19 national junior title in 2011, and until 2019, he has collected eleven U19 national junior titles. He made his international debut in the junior tournament in 2013, and to improve and reach his future goals to become a better badminton player, he joining Badminton Europe's Centre of Excellence based in Holbæk, Denmark in September 2017. Abela won six men's singles title and one mixed doubles title at the Maltese National Championships. With participation at

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

confirmed, Abela has also been confirmed as the first badminton player to ever represent

Malta at the Olympics Malta has competed in 17 Summer Olympic Games and 3 Winter Olympic Games, but hasn’t won a medal yet. As of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games no Maltese competitor has won an Olympic medal, but shooter William Chetcuti (who has won World Championsh ...

Personal life

Abela is a fan of Liverpool F.C. and has stated his favourite ever player is

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player, who most recently managed club Aston Villa. Described by pundits and fellow professionals as one of his generation's greatest players, Ge ...

Achievements

BWF International Challenge/Series (2 runners-up)

''Men's doubles'' :

BWF International Challenge The BWF International Challenge is a grade 3 and level 1 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Series (level 2) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament :

BWF International Series The BWF International Series is a grade 3 and level 2 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Challenge (level 1) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament :

BWF Future Series The BWF Future Series is a grade 3 and level 3 tournaments part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Challenge (level 1) and International Series (level 2), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abela, Matthew 1999 births Living people People from Pietà, Malta Maltese male badminton players Badminton players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic badminton players for Malta Badminton players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Malta European Games competitors for Malta Badminton players at the 2023 European Games