Kevin Haroldo Cordón Buezo (born November 28, 1986) is a Guatemalan

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

player. He won two men's singles title at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is hel ...

, four title at the Pan Am Championships (3 in singles and 1 in doubles), and six title at the Central American and Caribbean Games (4 in singles and 2 in doubles). He is a four time Olympian for Guatemala participating at the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

and the

2020 Olympic Games 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 ...

Career

Born in La Unión,

Zacapa Zacapa () is the departmental capital municipality of Zacapa Department, one of the 22 Departments of Guatemala. It is located approximately from Guatemala City. Sports Football club Deportivo Zacapa competes in Guatemala's top division and p ...

, Cordón was named after former England international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

Kevin Keegan, of whom his father was a fan. In spite of badminton not being popular in Guatemala during his childhood, he became a badminton player as he thought it would give him a better chance of one day becoming an Olympian than if he played a different sport, being the first member of his family to practice the sport. He began playing at the age of 11 and by 1998 he was a part of the Zacapa Department's youth team. After winning the silver medal at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic C ...

, Cordón qualified to the 2008 Olympic Games, and was selected as the flag bearer of his nation's Olympic team. At the Beijing Games he lost against the #3 seeded player, Bao Chunlai from China. At the

2010 Central American and Caribbean Games The 21st Central American and Caribbean Games (Spanish: ''XXI Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe, Mayagüez 2010'') took place in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, from 18 July 2010 to 1 August 2010. Bid It was understood that Mayagüez was going to b ...

, he won three gold medals in the singles, doubles, and team events, being the Guatemalan athlete with the most medals won during the games. Cordón then competed at the 2011 BWF World Championships in London where he reached the quarterfinals after beating fifth seeded

Chen Long Chen Long (; ; born 18 January 1989), is a Chinese former professional badminton player. He is the 2016 Olympic champion, two-time World champion, and an Asian champion. Chen was a former World number 1, occupying the top men's singles ranki ...

from China,

Henri Hurskainen Henri Mikael Hurskainen (born 13 September 1986) is a Swedish badminton player who competed for Sweden at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. Hurskainen has won several gold and silver medals in badminton championships. Hurskainen was born in Em ...

from Sweden and Pablo Abian from Spain to face the tournament's top seeded

Lee Chong Wei Datuk Lee Chong Wei (; born 21 October 1982) is a Malaysian former badminton player. As a singles player, Lee was ranked first worldwide for 349 weeks, including a 199-week streak from 21 August 2008 to 14 June 2012. He is the fifth Mala ...

. There he lost to the Malaysian player in two straight sets. Cordón was selected as the flag bearer for the Guatemalan team at the opening ceremony of the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

, and was also the top seeded player in the men's singles event. On October 20, 2011, he won his first Pan-American Games gold medal by beating Cuban competitor

Osleni Guerrero Osleni Guerrero Velazco (born 18 October 1989) is a Cuban badminton player. He is the first Cuban badminton player to win a medal in the Pan American Games. Guerrero also competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Career Guerrero, born in Havana, s ...

in the final. Cordón did not lose one set in the tournament. In 2015, he successfully defended his men's singles Pan Am Games title at the Atos Markham Pan Am Centre in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

at the Pan American Games beating Canadian

Andrew D'Souza Andrew William D'Souza (born 1 July 1994) is a Canadian male badminton player from Ottawa, Ontario. He has been a top ranked men's individual on the continent and a contender in major international competitions such as the 2012 BWF World Junior ...

21–13, 21–14 in the final. Cordón qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics singles competition. He won both of his group matches beating 15th seed Englishman

Rajiv Ouseph Theratil Rajiv Ouseph (born 30 August 1986) is a former badminton player from England who represented both England and Great Britain in the international tournaments. Ouseph was the European Champion, winning in 2017. Ouseph was born and brough ...

and Swedish player

in the process, thus winning a place in the round of 16. He lost his round of 16 match versus

Sho Sasaki is a Japanese retired badminton player from Tonami Transportation badminton team. He competed at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics. He also competed in four Asian Games from 2002 to 2014. Career In 2007 he won the Japanese National Cham ...

of Japan. He qualified again to the 2016 Summer Olympics, but had to withdrew due to injury after finishing the first match losing a tough 3-setter against

Adrian Dziolko Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the main ...

of Poland. Cordón qualified again for 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 1 ...

. He won both of his group matches, defeating Mexican

Lino Munoz Lino may refer to: * Lino, short for linoleum, a common flooring material * Lino, slang for linesman, the former name (still in widespread common use) for an assistant referee in football * Lino, slang for a habitual user of the narcotic cocaine ...

and the 8th-seeded

Ng Ka Long Angus Ng Ka-long (born 24 June 1994) is a badminton player from Hong Kong. He has a career-high ranking of 6th in the men's singles discipline. He won the 2016 Hong Kong Super Series and the 2020 Thailand Masters. Early life and education ...

, thus winning a place in the round of 16. He defeated

Mark Caljouw Mark Caljouw (born 25 January 1995) is a Dutch badminton player. He started playing badminton aged eight, at BC Randstad in Rijswijk. Career Caljouw was selected to join the national team in 2008, and made a debut in international senior tou ...

of the Netherlands to advance to the quarter-finals for the first time ever. In the quarter-finals, he defeated Korean

Heo Kwang-hee Heo Kwang-hee (; born 11 August 1995) is a South Korean badminton player who was educated at the Dankook University. He was selected to join the national team in 2012, and joined the Samsung Electro-Mechanics team in 2014. Heo was the bronze me ...

21–13 and 21–18 to become the first Central American to advance to the Olympic badminton semi-finals. He lost the semi-final to eventual gold medalist

Viktor Axelsen Viktor Axelsen (born 4 January 1994) is a Danish badminton player. He is the 2017 and 2022 World champion and the 2020 Olympic champion. He won the 2010 World Junior Championships, beating South Korea's Kang Ji-wook in the final to become the ...

of Denmark and the bronze medal match to Indonesian

Anthony Sinisuka Ginting Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (; born October 20, 1996) is an Indonesian badminton player. He first rose to prominence when he won the bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games. At the 2020 Olympics, he won bronze in the men's singles event. He became th ...

, both on straight games. Kevin Cordón twice won the continental

Pan Am Badminton Championships The Pan American Badminton Championships is a tournament organized since 1977 by the Badminton Pan America (BPA) to crown the best badminton players in the Americas. The tournament was held every year from 1977 until 1980, then every two years from ...

in the men's singles event in 2009 and 2012 and also once the men's doubles Pan Am badminton event in 2009 with compatriot

Rodolfo Ramirez Rodolfo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Rodolfo (footballer, born 1992), Brazilian footballer Rodolfo José da Silva Bardella * Rodolfo Albano III, Filipino politician * Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr. (1928-2012), Filipino actor ...

. Already as a junior player in 2004 he won the continental

Pan Am Junior Badminton Championships The Pan Am Junior Badminton Championships is a tournament organized for the 29th time in July 2021 by the Badminton Pan Am (BPA) confederation to crown the best badminton junior players in the Americas. The tournament is played in a juniors mixed t ...

boys' singles title in the U-19 category.

Achievements

Pan American Games

''Men's singles''

Pan Am Championships

''Men's singles'' ''Men's doubles''

Central American and Caribbean Games

''Men's singles'' ''Men's doubles''

BWF International Challenge/Series (40 titles, 17 runner-up)

''Men's singles'' ''Men's doubles'' : BWF International Challenge tournament : BWF International Series tournament : BWF Future Series tournament

Record against selected opponents

Includes results against CACSO Games finalists, Pan Am Games finalists, Pan Am Championships finalists, Super Series finalists, World Championship semifinalists, Olympic quarter-finalists, and all Olympic opponents.http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/profile/selectheadtohead.aspx?id=B8ECFF4D-C7A9-4778-AE13-900E7F626638 *

Ygor Coelho Ygor is a forename, a variant of Igor (given name) and may refer to: * Ygor (footballer, born 1984), Brazilian football midfielder * Ygor (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian football striker * Ygor Catatau Ygor de Oliveira Ferreira (born 1 Jul ...

4–1 *

Mike Beres Mike Beres (born May 13, 1973) is a male badminton player from Canada, who won the bronze medal in the men's doubles competition at the 1999 Pan American Games. He was born in Brantford, Ontario. 2001 (and 2007) he won the Boston Bad ...

0–1 *

1–0 * Jason Ho-Shue 2–2 * Brian Yang 1–5 * Stephan Wojcikiewicz 3–0 * Bao Chunlai 0–1 *

1–0 *

10–5 * Ilian Perez 0–1 * Jan Fröhlich 1–3 *

Peter Gade } Peter Høeg Gade (born 14 December 1976 in Aalborg, Denmark)BWF World Ranking
Bwfbadminto ...

0–1 *

Joachim Persson Joachim Persson (born 23 May 1983) is a badminton player from Denmark. Career Persson was born in Denmark but his family moved to Germany in his early years. He began to playing badminton in Trittau, Germany together with his parents. As Germa ...

1–1 *

0–1 *

1–1 *

Marc Zwiebler Marc Zwiebler () (born 13 March 1984) is a badminton player from Germany. His highest ranking is 10 in the world. He is a seven-time German national champion in men's singles. He won gold at the 2012 European Championships in Karlskrona over ...

0–2 *

Pedro Yang Pedro Alejandro Yang Ruiz (born October 9, 1976) is a retired male badminton player from Guatemala. Biography Yang played badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in men's singles, losing in the round of 32 to Jim Ronny Andersen of Norway. He ...

2–0 *

1–0 * Ajay Jayaram 0–2 *

Parupalli Kashyap Parupalli Kashyap (born 8 September 1986) is an Indian badminton player. A former World No.6, he trains at Gopichand Badminton Academy. He was awarded the Arjuna Award by the Government of India in 2012. He created history by reaching the q ...

0–1 *

Taufik Hidayat Taufik Hidayat (born 10 August 1981) is an Indonesian retired badminton player. He is a former World, Olympic, Asian Games, and Asian champion, and the youngest world number one in the men's singles. Hidayat has won the Indonesia Open six tim ...

0–1 *

Kento Momota is a Japanese badminton player. He is known to have a skillful and relentless play style on court. He has won several major badminton tournaments including two World Championships titles, two Asian Championships titles, and one All England ...

0–1 *

0–2 *

0–2 * Lino Muñoz 14–1 *

1–1 * Adrian Dziółko 2–1 *

1–0 *

Lee Hyun-il Lee Hyun-il ( ko, 이현일; born 17 April 1980) is a former badminton player from South Korea. He is a former World and Asian Championships bronze medalist, and was part of South Korean team that won the 2003 Sudirman Cup as well the gold medal ...

0–1 *

Pablo Abián Pablo Abián Vicén (; born 12 June 1985) is a Spanish badminton player. He was the men's singles gold medalists at the 2015 European Games, 2018 and 2022 Mediterranean Games. Olympic Games 2008 (Beijing, China) He competed in badminton ...

2–7 * Niluka Karunaratne 2–1 *

2–2 *

Boonsak Ponsana Boonsak Ponsana ( th, บุญศักดิ์ พลสนะ; ; born 22 February 1982) is a Thai badminton player. His younger sister Salakjit Ponsana is also part of the Thailand badminton team. He got a Bachelor of Laws from Sri Patum. ...

0–1 *

Howard Shu Howard Shu (born November 28, 1990) is an American badminton player. Shu began playing badminton at age 8. His father, who played in Taiwan, encouraged Shu to join him at local badminton clubs, and entered him into the Junior Nationals. Shu comp ...

9–0 *

Nguyễn Tiến Minh Nguyễn Tiến Minh (born February 12, 1983) is a Vietnamese badminton player. His best achievement to date was the bronze medal at the World Championship in 2013. Career Introduced to badminton by his father at the early age of 10, Nguy ...

1–0

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordon, Kevin 1986 births Living people People from Zacapa Department Guatemalan male badminton players Badminton players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic badminton players of Guatemala Badminton players at the 2003 Pan American Games Badminton players at the 2007 Pan American Games Badminton players at the 2011 Pan American Games Badminton players at the 2015 Pan American Games Badminton players at the 2019 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for Guatemala Pan American Games silver medalists for Guatemala Pan American Games bronze medalists for Guatemala Pan American Games medalists in badminton Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Competitors at the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Guatemala Central American and Caribbean Games silver medalists for Guatemala Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Guatemala Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in badminton