East Gippsland Water’s Luke Missen has his racquet at the ready to compete in the Thailand Para-Badminton International in Bangkok at the end of the month.
Twenty-four year old Luke, a technical officer with the water corporation, lives in Denison near Heyfield. He took up badminton less than three years ago, but can already claim two national titles under his belt and competing for Australia in the most recent Para-Badminton World Championships, held in England.
Later this year he is set to represent Australia at the World Dwarf Games in Guelph near Toronto, not just for para-badminton, but also basketball.
He attributes his success in part to his background playing tennis, which he says has provided him with good hand-eye coordination. Ultimately he has his sights set on representing Australia at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.
Luke, who will be competing in the short stature class at the Thailand Para-Badminton International, said, “It’s exciting to have another chance to compete internationally, considering the sport of para-badminton is still in its infancy in Australia. It’ll be good to see how I have improved and where I stand compared to the rest of my opponents since England 2015.”
East Gippsland Water’s Managing Director, Bruce Hammond, said that the corporation’s staff are very proud of Luke’s achievements to date, adding, “We all wish Luke every success in Thailand and later in the year in Toronto. It’s great to see his natural sports talent, courage and determination reaping just rewards on the world stage.”
