Liverpool badminton star Rachel Choong on meeting Jurgen Klopp and realising her Paralympic dream

Rachel Choong lived out the Paralympic dream she feared may have passed her by at Paris 2024.

Choong initially sought to make her inaugural Paralympic outing at Tokyo 2020 as para-badminton made its debut - but was denied the opportunity after her SH6 women's classification did not make the cut.

Her contributions were limited to commentary in the Far East but as SH6 entered the mix for Paris, she seized her chance to compete on the biggest stage, becoming GB’s first ever female para-badminton player to feature at a Paralympic Games in the process.

Having been on the brink of retirement amid her Tokyo disappointment, Choong is grateful that her persistence paid off.

“Just to step onto court and think that I made it, it was amazing,” she said.

“When I couldn't compete in Tokyo, I was on the cusp of potentially hanging up the racket.

"But to have stuck with it, got through training, been on the programme for two and a half years, pushing my body to the brink day in, day out, then to actually step onto court and become a Paralympian myself, it was amazing.

“Even when we got our accreditation at the Village, you see your name and the words Paralympic athlete underneath it, I got quite emotional because I felt like I finally got that.”

Choong experienced a mixed bag when it came to results on the court in the French capital.

She was happy with her run to the quarter-finals in the singles but in her preferred mixed doubles event, she suffered an early exit alongside Jack Shephard after being thrown into a 'group of death'.

As a result, Choong has unfinished business on the Paralympic stage that she will seek to address in LA.

“I'm sticking around for a bit longer,” she said.

“It's no secret that mixed doubles is my preferred event, and with us being so disappointed with the mixed doubles result and draw, I feel like there's a few things left unsaid there.

“I feel like I want to try and push myself and see if we can do better and come home with some silverware for LA.

“We’re hoping our fortune changes for LA, we get a slightly more favourable draw and we'll see what damage we can do.”

Regardless of results, Choong emerged from Paris as a history-maker.

As the first female to represent GB in Paralympic badminton, Choong’s name was etched into the books in Paris, blazing the trail for other young shuttlers to follow suit.

“It feels amazing, but also a bit surreal,” she added.

“It's mad to think that I'm the first female to represent GB at the Paralympics in badminton, but I'm lucky that I don't feel any pressure from it.

“At the end of the day, I just feel like a badminton player and that's the most important part for me, and I just want to go out there, do well, give everything to it and not have any regrets with it.

“It’s just really exciting that hopefully I can inspire people to take up badminton or inspire some of our pathway players to commit to this full-time athlete life and try and get themselves to the Paralympics. I hope that I can support them on that journey as well.”

Lifelong memories were not only made on the court for Choong.

The die-hard Liverpool fan also got the chance to meet former Reds manager Jurgen Klopp after her opening mixed doubles outing against Indonesia, with the German at the Games to cheer on his close friend Wojtek Czyz.

A perk that comes with being among the best of the best, Choong could not believe her long-awaited Paralympic debut coincided with meeting one of her all-time idols.

“As a Liverpool fan, it was a dream come true,” she said. “I’ve just been on the court, made my Paralympic debut, like the only thing that could have made the day better was actually winning my match.

“However, at least I played well - so I played well, made my Paralympic debut and met Jurgen Klopp. You can't write it.

“I think that's what's so special about the Paralympics. You go there with something of an expectation of how it's going to be, people try and prepare you for what it's going to be like, but then life throws you a couple of curveballs and you get the opportunity to meet Jurgen Klopp.

“It's just crazy, but bloody brilliant. Even all my family and friends who couldn't make it out to Paris at the time, they were all hearing about it over the radio and seeing it all over socials and it was just going crazy.

“He's as charismatic in person as you see him on the TV, which is really nice and he was just dead sound, so it was lovely meeting him.”