Luke
Missen

Para-badminton powerhouse Luke Missen is on track to represent Australia at his first Paralympic Games.

Just one year after picking up a badminton racquet for the first time, Luke made his international debut at the 2015 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Para-badminton World Championships. It was a perfect introduction to the world of elite Para-sport, with the Championships held in the birthplace of the Paralympic movement – Stoke Mandeville in England.

This first experience of life as an elite athlete lit a fire in Luke’s belly, and he began working towards qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, where Para-badminton will make its debut.

He achieved two quarter-finals appearances at the 2017 BWF Para-badminton World Championships in Ulsan, South Korea, and after a stellar performance at the 2018 Australian Para-badminton Championships in Perth, WA, where he won one gold and two silver medals, Luke looked set to enjoy his most successful World Championships campaign yet, when the 2019 BWF Para-badminton World Championships arrived in Basel, Switzerland, last August.

Luke reached the men’s doubles SS6 quarter-finals with Italy’s Berardino Lo Chiatto in Basel, and will now channel all of his energy into Tokyo 2020. Selection to the Australian Paralympic Team is no easy feat, but the opportunity to be a part of the first Para-badminton team to represent Australia at a Paralympic Games is not one that Luke is prepared to pass up without a fight.