The Best – Pan Am Para badminton 2025

The 7th Pan Am Para Badminton Championships were held in São Paulo from October 22nd to 26th, with broad continental participation: 187 athletes from 14 countries, who competed in the 22 events.

• Photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCyzBF
• Results: https://bit.ly/PanAmPB2025SCORE

Pan Am Athletes from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, United States, Venezuela participated in this event. They showed a great level of game and how Para badminton is growing in our region.

The Brazilian hosts dominated the competition, leading the gold medal count at this continental event. Brazil won the most gold medals (11), closely followed by Peru and Canada, who also had outstanding performances.

To Highlight

Miles Krajewski won the gold in MS SH6, defeating Vitor Tavares (Brazilian star) in straight games, and also winning a gold medal in MD SH6 along with Vitor, and a bronze medal in XD SH6 with Mikayla Chandler (USA).

“This means a lot to me because I recently moved to train full-time, so it shows that the hard work is paying off. It was amazing to play against my best friend, Vitor Tavares, and it was a great battle on the court. My next big goal is the World Championships; I hope to perform well there and set my sights on Los Angeles 2028.” said Miles after the medal’s presentation.

Paralympian and former World Champion, Pilar Jauregui (PER), got gold in WS WH2 and WD WH1-WH2, and a silver in XD WH1-WH2, defending her pan-American titles.

“I’m very happy to have achieved these results here in Brazil. I’ve been in three finals, won two, and I’m very excited to keep working because you can’t get complacent. We’re also preparing for the next Parapan American Games in Lima 2027, and I’ve been very pleased to see so many new athletes. I was surprised by the large number of participants and the very long competition days, but beyond the results, the most important thing is that we grow as a continent and continue to improve our level.” referred Pilar after the event.

Marcelo Alves continues to add Pan American medals to his history and again won gold in singles and doubles, putting Brazil at the top of the podium. “It’s a very rewarding moment. This year I had some difficult times with a foot injury, but I managed to recover and become champion. I feel happy, and my goal is to stay on top, working every day to improve. It’s good to have more participation in the championship; good players are coming, and it raises the level of competition. My next goal is the Paralympic Games; it’s a dream, and I’m going to work hard to be there in Los Angeles.”

The surprise of the competition came from Diana Rojas (PER), who defeated the WS SU5 defending champion and 2023 Parapan Am Games champion Mikaela Almeida (BRA) in the final and climbed to the top of the podium. “It’s very gratifying to win gold. It’s been a very exciting match, and I achieved my goal of winning this medal. It’s been a rematch of Santiago 2023. I’m happy and very pleased. I thank God for this medal, and I dedicate it to my family and friends.”

Jonaiker Pereira (VEN) also got a good result for his country after reaching good results in the group stage and Quarter finals, but losing in Semifinals to finally get bronze medal in MS WH1.

Max Avila (MEX) reached the gold in MD SL3 – SL4, along with William Roussy (CAN), and a silver medal in MS SL4, showing great level of play. “I feel great, motivated, and focused because this is the path my story is on. I’ll keep training hard, and we’ll go for more. My next goal is the World Championships next year; I want to do well there.”

That class held another surprise. In singles, the Canadian Rishav Sharma took the gold medal after defeating Joshua Huang (USA), who won the silver. Both were participating in a Pan American championship for the first time and came away with the best impressions and results in their events.

“The hard work from early morning until late at night has paid off, and I’m very happy with the result. It was a great tournament with all the best players from the region. It was my first Pan Am tournament, and I was a little nervous at the beginning, but I’m very happy to have won two gold medals to take home. My next goal is the World Championships next February; Joshua (Huang) and I will train hard to qualify.” — Rishav Sharma after getting 2 gold medals in this championship.

Gerson Vargas (PER) also won his first gold medal, reaching the top of the podium in MS SL3, defeating Santiago 2023 champion William Roussy (CAN) in the final and achieving his long-awaited dream. “It means a lot of effort, a lot of perseverance, a lot of sacrifice. I’m so happy. This gold is for my family who support me unconditionally and for all of Peru. I had my personal revenge since the 2022 championship, where my prosthesis broke before the tournament even started. I was able to win a medal there, but I was left with that bad feeling. Now I’ve been able to win the gold medal, and it means so much. It took a lot of sacrifice, training hard through happy and sad days. I’m truly very happy with this victory. Now my big goal is the Lima 2027 Parapan Am Games, to win a gold there and, in the long term, to qualify for the Paralympic Games.”