Dan Bethell should have been delighted when he created history at the 2021 Paralympics – but the Para-badminton player left Tokyo disappointed.
He became Britain’s first Paralympic medallist in the sport, which was making its Games debut, with silver in the SL3 category, yet he wanted gold.
The pain of losing to Indian rival Pramod Bhagat has driven the 28-year-old on to become world number one in his category going into this week’s World Championships in Thailand, which start on Tuesday, and the Paralympics in Paris later in the year.
“Losing in the final in Tokyo was one of the most difficult moments of my career because I desperately wanted to become Paralympic champion,” Englishman Bethell tells BBC Sport.
“But it was also one of the best things because it taught me a lot about myself and how to address the loss.
“I have really pushed on from there and I don’t think I would be as good…
