22 Could, 2025
Rising star Anya Butterworth is lastly prepared for the limelight after a surprising return to the worldwide stage on the 2025 Dubai Para Badminton Worldwide.
The 17-year-old from Manchester has been away from the worldwide circuit for the previous two years on account of harm, exams and Paralympic qualification.
Within the meantime, she has been honing her expertise behind the scenes, a tactic that in the end paid off with a roaring victory at her first competitors again on court docket.
Butterworth beat good good friend Nina Kozlova of Ukraine 21-18 21-16 within the girls’s SH6 closing in what was an emotional triumph for {the teenager}.
“I’m nonetheless on a excessive from it,” she mentioned. “That was my first worldwide event in two years, and it actually felt just like the coaching has paid off. I couldn’t have requested for a greater event.
“I really feel like I’ve labored so exhausting, bodily and mentally over the previous two years.
“I’ve beforehand struggled with nerves which affected my sport and so to go to this event and really feel so relaxed was nice.
“The ultimate was an unbelievable match and clearly I’m over the moon with the outcomes.
“Afterwards, I switched my cellphone again on and it simply exploded with all these messages. It was the most effective feeling ever.”
Butterworth noticed fast success within the sport at a younger age, first selecting up a badminton racket in 2019 after being inspired by none apart from Tim Shephard, the daddy of two-time Paralympian Jack Shephard.
GOLD within the sixth Fazza Dubai Para Badminton Worldwide 2025 for Anya Butterworth within the Ladies’s Singles🥇👏
Congratulations to Anya who didn’t drop a single sport on path to first place!🤩
Nicely carried out to Dom Corridor, David Follet and Victoria Bailey for his or her performances🙌 pic.twitter.com/p1OPhti3Yp
— Badminton England (@BadmintonEnglnd) May 13, 2025
Three years later, she was on the aircraft to her first European Championships.
“Once I was 9, I joined the Dwarf Sports activities Affiliation and I entered each sport that I might, together with badminton,” she mentioned.
“Tim Shephard, who’s Jack Shephard’s dad, is among the individuals who runs the Affiliation and in 2019 he was chatting to my mum about badminton and the way they had been wanting for lots of feminine gamers.
“He launched me to the UK Championships. I had barely picked up a badminton racket, however me being me, I turned up and have been within the sport since.”
At simply 17, Butterworth is now ranked twenty second on this planet for ladies’s SH6 singles and second in England behind Paris 2024 Paralympian Rachel Choong.
However alongside her ardour and ability on the court docket, the younger badminton participant believes it’s her willpower to by no means quit that’s the reason behind her continued success.
“One thing that stands out for me is my resilience on court docket,” she added.
“On the European Championships in 2023, I had one match versus Kozlova and I used to be down 20-9 within the second set however we ended it 21-18 to her.
“I feel that was certainly one of my proudest moments in a global match, showcasing my resilience and never giving in till the umpire says sport.”
Like most teenage athletes, Butterworth is presently studying methods to steadiness her time learning for A-Ranges with bettering her badminton expertise.
However when she does make time for herself, the Mancunian admitted that she usually turns her hand to the humanities and is a daily thespian off the court docket.
“I’m in first yr of faculty, and though my weeks principally include learning and badminton, I’ve all the time been into drama,” she mentioned.
“I’ve carried out a number of little productions on the Royal Trade Theatre in Manchester and I’ve been concerned with a number of younger performing teams.
“I’ve simply all the time preferred that inventive facet and I fairly like the way it’s completely different to badminton.”
With the success of Dubai behind her, Butterworth is now turning her consideration to the British & Irish Para Badminton Worldwide in July this yr.
Hosted in Wales, it can mark the primary Degree One competitors that Butterworth has ever competed in and can see her come up in opposition to the likes of Choong as soon as extra.
And with hopes of competing on the European Championships in September, Butterworth will probably be utilizing each final drop of confidence from her season opener to proceed her upwards trajectory.
“For the remainder of this yr, it’s nearly getting again into the swing of issues and enjoying quite a lot of gamers throughout the high seeds,” she mentioned.
“I’ve a event in Wales arising and will probably be my first Degree One, which I’m very excited for, however I really feel like will probably be a really difficult event due to that.
“To see my outcomes repay in Dubai, I’ve now obtained the arrogance that my coaching and psychological technique does work.
“I really feel very eager for the remainder of this yr going into European Championships so I really feel like I’m on a very optimistic observe on the minute.”
Photos: Badminton Picture/Anya Butterworth
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