Richard Vaughan (badminton)

Richard Vaughan (born 16 April 1978) is a Welsh and British badminton player from Llanbradach, Caerphilly, Wales.[2] Vaughan was the Chief Executive of Badminton Ireland between 2011 - 2015.

Richard Vaughan
Personal information
CountryWales
Born (1978-04-16) 16 April 1978 (age 46)
Caerphilly, Wales[1]
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight82 kg (181 lb; 12.9 st)
HandednessRight
Men's singles
Highest ranking7[1] (2002)
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Wales
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Manchester Men's singles
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Glasgow Men's singles
European Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 1997 Nymburk Boys' singles
BWF profile

In 2014 Vaughan joined the board of Badminton Europe (a member of the Badminton World Federation). He chaired the High-Performance Commission, which has oversaw the development of a World Training Centre in Denmark.

Between 2015 - 2020 Vaughan was the CEO of Squash Australia,[3] where he oversaw the sport’s rebranding and Australia’s success at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.[4] A new National Training Centre was opened on the Gold Coast in late 2018.[5] In 2019, Vaughan established the 'Friends of Squash’ Parliament competition with the current Sports Minister Anika Wells and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

In late 2020 Vaughan joined the board at Equestrian Australia as a Non-Executive Director, Chairing the Finance Committee.

Education

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Vaughan holds an MBA from Leicester University and an MA in Sports Development from Bath University, having previously achieved a BSc(Hons) in economics and politics.[citation needed] He is currently completing a Ph.D. study at the University of Canberra via a Sports Integrity Australia scholarship.[citation needed] He has a long interest in athletes’ impact on the integrity of sport, demonstrated by his stance on Darfur in the build-up to Beijing 2008.[6]

Career

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Richard Vaughan won a bronze medal at the 2000 European Badminton Championships, losing to Peter Gade (Denmark) in the semi-final. He also won a bronze medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, beating world No3 Susilo (Singapore) and Gupta (India) on the way to the semi-final, where he lost to Lee (Malaysia). His highest world ranking was number 7 (2002). He beat the World No1 Roslin Hashim (Malaysia) at the Danish Open 2001 and Swiss Open 2002. In 2004 Vaughan beat the World Champion Xia Xuanze (China) at the All England Super Series.[7] He has 97 caps representing Wales (March 2009).[citation needed] In 2005 he established the Richard Vaughan Badminton Academy (see below), based in the UK, helping establish many British and European players.

Vaughan has competed twice in badminton at the Summer Olympics. Vaughan played badminton at the 2000 Summer Olympics in men's singles, beating world No5 Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand in the first round and Swedish No1 Rasmus Wengberg of Sweden in the 2nd round, before losing to World No1 and World Champion Sun Jun of China, 13–15 13–15.[2] He also competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics despite contracting a virus similar to glandular fever, which seriously impaired his preparation for the Athens Olympics. In men's singles, he defeated Marco Vasconcelos of Portugal in the first round. In the round of 16, Vaughan was defeated by Shon Seung-Mo of Korea, the eventual silver medalist.[2]

Best Grand Prix results

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  • Last 16 All England 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007
  • 1/4 Final Danish Grand Prix 2001
  • 1/4 Final Swiss Grand Prix 2002
  • 1/4 Final German Grand Prix 2002
  • Semi Final Dutch Grand Prix 2000
  • Semi Final US Grand Prix 2007
  • Final Polish Grand Prix 2000
  • Final Polish Grand Prix 2001

Achievements

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Commonwealth Games

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Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2002 Bolton Arena, Manchester, England   Lee Tsuen Seng   Bronze

European Championships

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Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2000 Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland   Peter Gade 3–15, 4–15   Bronze

European Junior Championships

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Boys' singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1997 Nymburk, Czech Republic   Dicky Palyama 15–11, 11–15, 15–18   Silver

World Grand Prix

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The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) since 1983.

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2000 Polish Open   Vladislav Druzchenko 12–15, 12–15   Runner-up
1999 Polish Open   Rio Suryana 9–15, 15–6, 12–15   Runner-up

BWF International Challenge/Series

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Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2006 Canadian International   Runner-up
2006 Waikato International   John Moody 21–11, 16–21, 20–22   Runner-up
2006 Victorian International   Nikhil Kanetkar 22–20, 21–13   Winner
2006 Estonian International   Runner-up
2006 Mauritius International   Klaus Raffeiner 21–11, 21–18   Winner
2006 Kenya International   Edwin Ekiring 21–16, 21–17   Winner
2006 South Africa International     Winner
2003 Peru International   Tjitte Weistra 15–4, 15–8   Winner
2003 Giraldilla International   Sho Sasaki 15–11, 6–15, 12–15   Runner-up
2003 Guatemala International   Hidetaka Yamada 11–15, 15–10, 15–8   Winner
2002 South Africa International   Stewart Carson 7–1, 7–0, 7–0   Winner
2002 Spanish International   Dicky Palyama 4–7, 1–7, 7–5   Runner-up
2001 Bulgarian International   Andrew South 7–2, 5–7, 7–2   Winner
2000 Cuba International   Jyri Aalto 15–8, 15–6   Winner
2000 Canadian International   Jyri Aalto 12–15, 15–7, 9–15   Runner-up
2000 Welsh International   Andrew South 1–7, 7–2, 7–5   Winner
2000 Dutch International   Vladislav Druzchenko 15–10, 6–15, 11–15   Runner-up
2000 Croatian International   Jyri Aalto 15–10, 15–13   Winner
1999 Welsh International   Rasmus Wengberg 17–16, 17–14   Winner
1999 Le Volant d'Or de Toulouse   Pullela Gopichand 13–15, 15–14, 6–15   Runner-up
1999 Slovenian International   Kasper Ødum 15–4, 11–15, 15–9   Winner
1999 Chile International   Bobby Milroy 15–9, 15–5   Winner
1999 Peru International   Ardy Wiranata 15–7, 2–15, 9–15   Runner-up
1998 Argentina International   Winner
1998 Brazil International   Jim Ronny Andersen 15–6, 15–8   Winner
1998 Spanish International   Gerben Bruijstens 15–5, 15–1   Winner

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2009 Cyprus International   Sarah Thomas   Henry Tam
  Donna Haliday
18–21, 14–21   Runner-up
2009 Banuinvest International   Sarah Thomas   Valeriy Atrashchenkov
  Elena Prus
19–21, 12–21   Runner-up
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament

Richard Vaughan Badminton Academy

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The Richard Vaughan Badminton Academy is a group of young Welsh badminton players. It is a prominent school for badminton in Wales, and specifically badminton in Cardiff. The founder and head coach is Richard Vaughan,[8] a two time Olympian, who is based in Cardiff, Wales.

Richard is supported by Donal O Halloran, Piret Vaughan, Liam Ingram and Alistair Casey. Dr. Leon Vaughan provides injury prevention programs in addition to the treatment of injuries.

Notable Alumni

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  • Sarah Thomas, winner of the Welsh Senior Nationals
  • Tim Stranks, winner of the British u17 Championships in January 2009.

Partnerships

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In June 2006 it announced a 5-year partnership with Finsbury Food Group with the aim of providing the funds to secure coach resources and fund tournament participation in the buildup to the London 2012 Olympics. Other local business supporters includes FD Systems[9] and Accounting Software Direct.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b "PROFILE – Richard Vaughan – BEIJING OR BUST". Badzine.net. 18 March 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "Richard Vaughan Biography and Olympic Results: Olympics at Sports-Reference.com". Sports-Reference.com website. Sports Reference LLC. 2010. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
  3. ^ "Vaughan Joins Squash Australia".
  4. ^ "GC2018 Doubles Day Six : Great finish for the Aussies". Squash Australia.
  5. ^ "NEW NATIONAL SQUASH CENTRE OPENS ON THE GOLD COAST AS PART OF COMMONWEALTH GAMES LEGACY PROJECT". Squash Australia.
  6. ^ "Vaughan backed in Olympic stance". 28 March 2008 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  7. ^ BBC (12 March 2004). "Al England".
  8. ^ "Home". richardvaughan.net.
  9. ^ "Home". fdsystems.co.uk.
  10. ^ "Home". accountingsoftwaredirect.co.uk.
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