Theratil Rajiv Ouseph[2][3] (born 30 August 1986) is a former international badminton player from England who has represented both England and Great Britain. A long-time English and British No.1, Ouseph's most significant international tournament achievement was becoming the European Men's Singles Champion, winning the title in 2017.

Rajiv Ouseph
Ouseph in August 2011
Personal information
CountryEngland
Born (1986-08-30) 30 August 1986 (age 38)
Hounslow, London, England
ResidenceMilton Keynes, England
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight82 kg (181 lb)
HandednessRight
Men's singles
Highest ranking10 (27 October 2016[1])
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  England
Sudirman Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Glasgow Mixed team
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 2010 Delhi Men's singles
Silver medal – second place 2014 Glasgow Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Delhi Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Gold Coast Men's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Gold Coast Mixed team
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Kolding Men's singles
Silver medal – second place 2014 Kazan Men's singles
Silver medal – second place 2018 Huelva Men's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Manchester Men's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2016 La Roche-sur-Yon Men's singles
European Mixed Team Championships
Silver medal – second place 2015 Leuven Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Moscow Mixed team
European Men's Team Championships
Silver medal – second place 2008 Almere Men's team
Silver medal – second place 2014 Basel Men's team
Silver medal – second place 2018 Kazan Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Thessalonica Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Amsterdam Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Kazan Men's team
Commonwealth Youth Games
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Bendigo Mixed team
European Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Den Bosch Boys' singles
BWF profile

Ouseph was born and brought up in west London and is of Indian descent with Kerala heritage.

Career

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Ouseph has won the men's singles titles at the National Championships, seven times in a row from 2008 to 2014, the first player to do so.[4] Ouseph became the first player to win more than four consecutive national singles titles since Darren Hall (1988–1991).

In the junior English national circuit, he has won all the singles titles from the ages of U–13 to U–19. In the European tournaments, he has won the U–19 Danish titles in singles and mixed doubles and the German Junior title in singles. His other notable achievements are winning the European Junior Championship in 2005, the first Englishman to win the title in twenty years.

In 2009, he won the Canadian International, Le Volant d'Or de Toulouse, Scottish Open, Irish Open and went on to win the 2009 European Circuit Finals.

He won his first senior cap for England at the age of nineteen in the Thomas Cup. He also represented England in the Sudirman Cup where he was the youngest player in the English team. Ouseph was selected as the number one singles player for the English team in the Thomas Cup qualifiers which was held in Poland in February 2010.

Ouseph was ranked as world number 11 in November 2010, after winning the U.S. Open men's singles title and winning the bronze medal in the men's singles in the European Championships. Later that year he won a silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the men's singles, as well as the bronze medal in the mixed team event.

In 2014, Ouseph took silver at the European Championships after losing to top seed Jan Ø. Jørgensen of Denmark in Kazan, Russia.[5]

Representing Great Britain at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's singles event, he was defeated by bronze medallist Viktor Axelsen from Denmark in quarter finals.[6]

In 2017 Rajiv became the first English Men’s Singles player in 27 years to become a European Champion. In Kolding, Denmark he beat the home soil favourites to win the European Championships.[7]

Achievements

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Commonwealth Games

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Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2010 Siri Fort Sports Complex, New Delhi, India   Lee Chong Wei 10–21, 8–21   Silver
2018 Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre, Gold Coast, Australia   H. S. Prannoy 17–21, 25–23, 21–9   Bronze

European Championships

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Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2010 Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester, England   Jan Ø. Jørgensen 14–21, 20–22   Bronze
2014 Gymnastics Center, Kazan, Russia   Jan Ø. Jørgensen 18–21, 10–21   Silver
2016 Vendéspace, La Roche-sur-Yon, France   Jan Ø. Jørgensen 11–21, 16–21   Bronze
2017 Sydbank Arena, Kolding, Denmark   Anders Antonsen 21–19, 21–19   Gold
2018 Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marín, Huelva, Spain   Viktor Axelsen 8–21, 7–21   Silver

European Junior Championships

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Boys' singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2005 De Maaspoort, Den Bosch, Netherlands   Dieter Domke 15–0, 15–4   Gold

BWF World Tour

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The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[8] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[9]

Men's singles

Year Tournament Level Opponent Score Result
2018 SaarLorLux Open Super 100   Subhankar Dey 11–21, 14–21   Runner-up

BWF Grand Prix

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The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) which was held from 2007 to 2017.

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2010 U.S. Open   Brice Leverdez 21–17, 21–9   Winner
2015 Scottish Open   Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 19–21, 21–11, 16–21   Runner-up
2015 U.S. Grand Prix   Lee Hyun-il 19–21, 12–21   Runner-up
  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
  BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series

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Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2007 Dutch International   Wu Yunyong 16–21, 16–21   Runner-up
2008 Scottish International   Anand Pawar 21–17, 21–8   Winner
2008 Irish International   Scott Evans 21–5, 21–19   Winner
2009 Le Volant d'Or de Toulouse   Kashyap Parupalli 21–11, 21–12   Winner
2009 Canadian International   Carl Baxter 21–11, 21–19   Winner
2011 Scottish International   Carl Baxter 21–18, 21–10   Winner
2011 Irish International   Przemysław Wacha 21–15, 11–5 retired   Winner
2012 Finnish Open   Henri Hurskainen 21–18, 16–21, 21–18   Winner
2013 French International   Flemming Quach 21–15, 21–15   Winner
2013 Finnish Open   Dmytro Zavadsky 21–16, 21–12   Winner
2015 Swedish Masters   Pablo Abián 21–15, 21–17   Winner
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament

National titles

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  • 2005 English U–19 Nationals men's singles Winner
  • 2008 English Nationals men's singles winner
  • 2009 English Nationals men's singles winner
  • 2010 English Nationals men's singles winner
  • 2011 English Nationals men's singles winner
  • 2012 English Nationals men's singles winner
  • 2013 English Nationals men's singles winner
  • 2014 English Nationals men's singles winner
  • 2016 English Nationals men's singles winner

Personal life

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Ouseph took up badminton at the age of 9, encouraged by the rest of his family who also played badminton.[4] Although he began a degree in Media at Loughborough University, he chose to give it up in favour of his badminton career.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Ranking History". Badminton World Federation.
  2. ^ Delhi 2010: Team - We Are England
  3. ^ The Complete Book of the Commonwealth Games, Graham Groom, 2013, pg 181 and 197
  4. ^ a b c "Glasgow 2014 – Rajiv Ouseph Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  5. ^ Badminton: Rajiv Ouseph takes silver at European Championships - BBC Sport
  6. ^ "Team GB stars seeded for Rio 2016 Games". Badminton England. 22 July 2016.
  7. ^ "Retired Champion: European title was my highlight".
  8. ^ Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". bwfbadminton.com. Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  9. ^ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". bwfbadminton.com. Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
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