Thomas Wandschneider

Thomas Wandschneider (born 7 November 1963 in Buxtehude) is a German para-badminton player. He is a four time Para badminton world champion.^[1] He considered retiring in 2018, but changed his mind due to Badminton being at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.^[2][3] Wandschneider is also a 14-time gold medalist at the European Para-Badminton Championships.

Thomas Wandschneider
Personal information
Country	Germany
Born	(1963-11-07) 7 November 1963 (age 61) Buxtehude, Germany
Handedness	Right
Coach	Jens Janisch
Men’s singles WH1 Men's doubles WH1–WH2
Highest ranking	1 (MS 1 January 2019) 1 (MD with Martin Rooke 1 January 2019)
Current ranking	3 (MS) 2 (MD with Rick Hellmann) (8 November 2022)
Medal record Men's para-badminton Representing  Germany Paralympic Games 2024 Paris Men's singles World Championships 2005 Hsinchu Men's singles 2005 Hsinchu Men's doubles 2011 Guatemala City Men's doubles 2013 Dortmund Men's doubles 2022 Tokyo Men's doubles 2007 Bangkok Men's doubles 2011 Guatemala City Men's singles 2015 Stoke Mandeville Men's singles 2003 Cardiff Mixed doubles 2013 Dortmund Men's singles 2013 Dortmund Mixed doubles 2017 Ulsan Men's singles European Para Championships 2023 Rotterdam Men's singles 2023 Rotterdam Men's doubles European Championships 2006 La Rinconada Men's singles 2006 La Rinconada Men's doubles 2008 Dortmund Men's doubles 2010 Filzbach Men's singles 2010 Filzbach Men's doubles 2012 Dortmund Men's singles 2012 Dortmund Men's doubles 2014 Murcia Men's singles 2014 Murcia Men's doubles 2016 Beek Men's singles 2016 Beek Men's doubles 2018 Rodez Men's singles 2018 Rodez Men's doubles 2010 Filzbach Men's singles 2004 Tilburg Men's singles 2004 Tilburg Men's doubles 2010 Filzbach Mixed doubles
BWF profile

In his second appearance at the Paralympics in 2024, he won a bronze medal in the men's singles WH1 event, gifting Germany's first para-badminton medal at the Paralympics. Wandschneider also became the oldest Paralympic medalist in para-badminton at 60 years old.^[4][5]

Biography

Wandschneider was diagnosed with paraplegia after a car accident in May 2000.^[6] Wandschneider was later introduced to para-badminton through an acquaintance from the hospital and made his debut in the sport at the 2001 IBAD Para-Badminton World Championships in Córdoba, Spain.

Achievements

Paralympic Games

Men's singles WH1

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2024	Porte de La Chapelle Arena, Paris, France	Jeong Jae-gun	26–24, 21–11	Bronze

World Championships

Men's singles WH1

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2005	Hsinchu Municipal Gymnasium, Hsinchu, Taiwan	Lee Sam-seop	2–0	Gold
2011	Coliseo Deportivo, Guatemala City, Guatemala	Lee Sam-seop	14–21, 11–21	Silver
2013	Helmut-Körnig-Halle, Dortmund, Germany	Lee Sam-seop	20–22, 21–19, 21–21	Bronze
2015	Stoke Mandeville Stadium, Stoke Mandeville, England	Lee Sam-seop	9–21, 12–21	Silver
2017	Dongchun Gymnasium, Ulsan, South Korea	Qu Zimo	18–21, 9–21	Bronze

Men's doubles WH1–WH2

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2005	Hsinchu Municipal Gymnasium, Hsinchu, Taiwan	Avni Kertmen	Choi Jung-man Lee Sam-seop	2–0	Gold
2007	Gymnasium 1, Bangkok, Thailand	Avni Kertmen	Choi Jung-man Lee Sam-seop	17–21, 16–21	Silver
2011	Coliseo Deportivo, Guatemala City, Guatemala	Avni Kertmen	Osamu Nagashima Seiji Yamami	21–10, 21–15	Gold
2013	Helmut-Körnig-Halle, Dortmund, Germany	David Toupé	Avni Kertmen Lee Sam-seop	21–10, 21–16	Gold
2022	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan	Rick Hellmann	Noor Azwan Noorlan Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli	21–11, 21–15	Gold

Mixed doubles WH1–WH2

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2003	Welsh Institute of Sport, Cardiff, Wales	Irmgard Wandt	Ton Hollaar Carol de Meijer	5–11, 12–13	Bronze
2013	Helmut-Körnig-Halle, Dortmund, Germany	Karin Suter-Erath	Lee Sam-seop Son Ok-cha	19–21, 21–23	Bronze

European Para Championships

Men's singles WH1

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2023	Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands	David Toupé	21–15, 21–17	Gold

Men's doubles WH1–WH2

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2023	Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands	Rick Hellmann	Thomas Jakobs David Toupé	21–19, 21–18	Gold

European Championships

Men's singles WH1

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2004	Sporthal Dongewijk, Tilburg, Netherlands	Quincy Michielsen	10–15, 10–15	Bronze
2006	Fernando Marin Sports Centre, La Rinconada, Spain	Walter Rauber	21–7, 21–5	Gold
2008	Sporthallen TSC Eintracht Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany	David Toupé	2–0	Gold
2010	Sportzentrum Kerenzerberg, Filzbach, Switzerland	David Toupé	16–21, 21–23	Silver
2012	Helmut-Körnig-Halle, Dortmund, Germany	David Toupé	21–14, 21–13	Gold
2014	High Performance Center, Murcia, Spain	David Toupé	20–22, 21–12, 21–15	Gold
2016	Sporthal de Haamen, Beek, Netherlands	David Toupé	26–28, 21–17, 21–13	Gold
2018	Amphitheatre Gymnasium, Rodez, France	David Toupé	21–14, 21–13	Gold

Men's doubles WH1–WH2

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2004	Sporthal Dongewijk, Tilburg, Netherlands	Klaus Gröning	Amir Levi Moshe Zehavi	1–15, 4–15	Bronze
2006	Fernando Marin Sports Centre, La Rinconada, Spain	Avni Kertmen	Ferdinand Hoeke Walter Rauber	21–13, 21–9	Gold
2008	Sporthallen TSC Eintracht Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany	Avni Kertmen	Shimon Shalom David Toupé	2–0	Gold
2010	Sportzentrum Kerenzerberg, Filzbach, Switzerland	Avni Kertmen	Sébastien Martin David Toupé	22–20, 20–22, 21–7	Gold
2012	Helmut-Körnig-Halle, Dortmund, Germany	Avni Kertmen	Pascal Barrillon David Toupé	21–12, 21–16	Gold
2014	High Performance Center, Murcia, Spain	David Toupé	Avni Kertmen Martin Rooke	21–11, 21–13	Gold
2016	Sporthal de Haamen, Beek, Netherlands	Connor Dua-Harper	Martin Rooke David Toupé	21–17, 12–21, 21–16	Gold
2018	Amphitheatre Gymnasium, Rodez, France	Martin Rooke	Amir Levi David Toupé	21–19, 21–16	Gold

Mixed doubles WH1–WH2

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2010	Sportzentrum Kerenzerberg, Filzbach, Switzerland	Ulrike Kriebel	David Toupé Sonja Häsler	17–21, 15–21	Bronze

BWF Para Badminton World Circuit (1 title, 6 runners-up)

The BWF Para Badminton World Circuit – Grade 2, Level 1, 2 and 3 tournaments has been sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation from 2022.^[7][8]

Men's singles WH1

Year	Tournament	Level	Opponent	Score	Result
2022	Spanish Para-Badminton International II	Level 2	Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli	20–22, 24–22, 17–21	Runner-up
2022	Spanish Para-Badminton International	Level 1	Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli	12–21, 16–21	Runner-up
2024	Spanish Para-Badminton International II	Level 2	Jeong Jae-gun	17–21, 25–23, 20–22	Runner-up

Men's doubles WH1–WH2

Year	Tournament	Level	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2022	Spanish Para-Badminton International II	Level 2	Rick Hellmann	Noor Azwan Noorlan Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli	21–14, 21–14	Winner
2022	Bahrain Para-Badminton International	Level 2	Rick Hellmann	Choi Jung-man Kim Jung-jun	21–12, 10–21, 11–21	Runner-up
2022	4 Nations Para-Badminton International	Level 1	Rick Hellmann	Noor Azwan Noorlan Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli	22–20, 17–21, 11–21	Runner-up
2024	Spanish Para-Badminton International I	Level 1	Rick Hellmann	Jeong Jae-gun Yu Soo-young	14–21, 12–21	Runner-up

International tournaments (2011–2021) (13 titles, 9 runners-up)

Men's singles WH1

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2011	Spanish Para-Badminton International	David Toupé	21–18, 21–10	Winner
2012	French Para-Badminton International	David Toupé	19–21, 18–21	Runner-up
2015	Spanish Para-Badminton International	David Toupé	21–9, 21–13	Winner
2016	Turkish Para-Badminton International	David Toupé	21–19, 21–17	Winner
2016	Irish Para-Badminton International	Lee Sam-seop	15–21, 15–21	Runner-up
2017	Spanish Para-Badminton International	David Toupé	21–18, 21–14	Winner
2018	Thailand Para-Badminton International	Lee Dong-seop	9–21, 7–21	Runner-up
2018	Denmark Para-Badminton International	Marcelo Alves Conceição	21–10, 21–8	Winner
2019	Uganda Para-Badminton International	David Toupé	21–11, 24–26, 21–16	Winner
2019	Canada Para-Badminton International	Lee Dong-seop	13–21, 17–21	Winner
2021	Uganda Para-Badminton International	Konstantin Afinogenov	21–4, 21–13	Winner

Men's doubles WH1–WH2

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2011	Spanish Para-Badminton International	Avni Kertmen	Pascal Barrillon David Toupé	21–12, 21–9	Winner
2012	Spanish Para-Badminton International	Avni Kertmen	Choi Jung-man Lee Sam-seop	13–21, 17–21	Runner-up
2013[a]	Spanish Para-Badminton International	David Toupé	Javier Fernández Roberto Galdos	21–6, 21–13	Runner-up
			Sébastien Martin Seiji Yamami	21–6, 21–5
			Choi Jung-man Lee Sam-seop	11–21, 14–21
2015	Spanish Para-Badminton International	David Toupé	Connor Dua-Harper Martin Rooke	22–20, 21–12	Winner
2016	Turkish Para-Badminton International	David Toupé	Javier Fernández Roberto Galdos	21–13, 21–19	Winner
2016	Irish Para-Badminton International	David Toupé	Kim Jung-jun Lee Sam-seop	14–21, 9–21	Runner-up
2017	Irish Para-Badminton International	Chan Ho Yuen	Kim Kyung-hoon Lee Sam-seop	19–21, 17–21	Runner-up
2018	Irish Para-Badminton International	Martin Rooke	Kim Kyung-hoon Lee Sam-seop	17–21, 13–21	Runner-up
2019	Denmark Para-Badminton International	Young-chin Mi	Daiki Kajiwara Hiroshi Murayama	12–21, 9–21	Runner-up
2021	Uganda Para-Badminton International	Rick Hellmann	Prem Kumar Ale Abu Hubaida	21–13, 21–13	Winner

Notes

1. This tournament uses a round robin system.