Paniz Yousefi, a BWF badminton coach from Sweden, was appointed one of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Young Leaders earlier this year. To her credit, the 25-year-old has been spearheading ‘Parallel Play’, a coaching programme aimed at teaching badminton to children and young adults with disabilities.

Parallel Play aims to promote disability inclusion by encouraging disabled people to compete in badminton, with the idea of establishing training groups at badminton clubs. The long-term aim is to qualify athletes for the Paralympics and Special Olympics.

Parallel Play has helped develop Para badminton and special badminton at five clubs, participated in six camps and won four medals at its first international competition in Helsinki, Finland. It has greatly expanded, growing from one player representing Sweden to 80, including 20 athletes who want to represent their country.

From the city of Uppsala, Yousefi began the innovative course after successfully putting into action, her first project with the goal of integrating 70 young adults into playing badminton.

“I wanted to get adults in a rough neighbourhood playing badminton in a way that was inclusive for all. After two years, I saw a massive change in their behaviour,” shared Yousefi.

“I started thinking of a new project after seeing the positive effect badminton can have in lives of people with disabilities, so I questioned myself ‘why don’t we have it everywhere?’.”