Valeska Knoblauch Explained

Valeska Knoblauch (born 21 September 1990) is a German para-badminton player who competes in international badminton competitions. She is a European singles champion and has competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics where she reached the quarterfinals in the women's singles WH1.^[1]

Early life

Knoblauch was a very keen dancer in her younger years. When Knoblauch was fourteen years old, she jumped onto a windowsill in a classroom at her high school. She leaned back and fell out, she broke her spine and became a paraplegic since then. She went back to school four years later and started to play badminton as part of her rehabilitation.^{[2] [3]}

Achievements

World Championships

Women's doubles WH1–WH2

Mixed doubles WH1–WH2

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2013	Helmut-Körnig-Halle, Dortmund, Germany	Young-chin Mi	Jakarin Homhual Sujirat Pookkham	8–21, 12–21	Bronze
2019	St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland	Young-chin Mi	Yang Tong Li Hongyan	6–21, 10–21	Bronze

European Championships

Women's singles WH1

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2014	High Performance Center, Murcia, Spain	Karin Suter-Erath	9–21, 5–21	Silver
2016	Sporthal de Haamen, Beek, Netherlands	Karin Suter-Erath	11–21, 21–17, 12–21	Silver
2018	Amphitheatre Gymnasium, Rodez, France	Karin Suter-Erath	12–21, 21–19, 28–26	Gold

Women's doubles WH1–WH2

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2012	Helmut-Körnig-Halle, Dortmund, Germany	Elke Rongen	Sonja Häsler Karin Suter-Erath	20–22, 8–21	Bronze
2014	High Performance Center, Murcia, Spain	Elke Rongen	Sonja Häsler Karin Suter-Erath	17–21, 21–18, 12–21	Silver
2016	Sporthal de Haamen, Beek, Netherlands	Elke Rongen	Emine Seçkin Karin Suter-Erath	12–21, 8–21	Silver
2018	Amphitheatre Gymnasium, Rodez, France	Elke Rongen	Cynthia Mathez Karin Suter-Erath	16–21, 16–21	Bronze

Mixed doubles WH1–WH2

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2012	Helmut-Körnig-Halle, Dortmund, Germany	Young-chin Mi	David Toupé Sonja Häsler	6–21, 12–21	Bronze
2016	Sporthal de Haamen, Beek, Netherlands	Young-chin Mi	David Toupé Narin Uluç	13–21, 21–13, 18–21	Bronze
2018	Amphitheatre Gymnasium, Rodez, France	Young-chin Mi	Konstantin Afinogenov Emine Seçkin	18–21, 21–13, 18–21	Bronze

International tournaments (2011–2021) (7 titles, 16 runners-up)

Women's singles WH1

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2016	Irish Para-Badminton International	Karin Suter-Erath	7–21, 9–21	Runner-up
2018	Irish Para-Badminton International	Karin Suter-Erath	22–20, 21–16	Winner
2018	Denmark Para-Badminton International	To Man-kei	21–16, 21–13	Winner
2019	Uganda Para-Badminton International	Nina Gorodetzky	21–10, 21–16	Winner
2019	Canada Para-Badminton International	Karin Suter-Erath	21–12, 21–6	Winner
2019	Thailand Para-Badminton International	Sarina Satomi	17–21, 13–21	Runner-up
2019	China Para-Badminton International	Sarina Satomi	13–21, 21–17, 12–21	Runner-up
		Zhang Jing	24–22, 21–16
		To Man-kei	21–9, 21–9
		Yin Menglu	21–14, 21–18
2019	Denmark Para-Badminton International	Sujirat Pookkham	20–22, 8–21	Runner-up
2020	Peru Para-Badminton International	Ikumi Fuke	21–15, 21–17	Winner
2021	Spanish Para-Badminton International	Sujirat Pookkham	16–21, 7–21	Runner-up

Women's doubles WH1–WH2

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2012	Spanish Para-Badminton International	Sujirat Pookkham	Sonja Häsler Karin Suter-Erath	17–21, 19–21	Runner-up
			Maria Begoña Gago Sofía Balsalobre	21–8, 21–13
			Mine Korkmaz Emine Seçkin	21–10, 21–15
2015	Spanish Para-Badminton International	Elke Rongen	Amalia López Kartiki Patel	21–7, 21–3	Runner-up
			Kristel Gevaert Paméla Masse	21–7, 21–11
			Liliia Prokofeva Karin Suter-Erath	14–21, 12–21
2016	Irish Para-Badminton International	Elke Rongen	Etsuko Kobayashi Yuma Yamazaki	21–19, 12–21, 21–16	Winner
2017	Spanish Para-Badminton International	Elke Rongen	Kim Dae-young Kim Seung-suk	15–21, 10–21	Runner-up
2017	Japan Para-Badminton International	Elke Rongen	Sujirat Pookkham Amnouy Wetwithan	10–21, 6–21	Runner-up
2018	Irish Para-Badminton International	Elke Rongen	Yuka Chokyu Fiona Christie	17–21, 21–15, 21–10	Winner
			Liusia Ignatenko Irina Kuzmenko	21–9, 21–15
			Cynthia Mathez Karin Suter-Erath	19–21, 21–16, 21–13
2018	Denmark Para-Badminton International	Elke Rongen	Henriett Koósz Marcela Quinteros	12–21, 18–21	Runner-up
2019	Uganda Para-Badminton International	Elke Rongen	Pilar Jáuregui Henriett Koósz	21–18, 15–21, 17–21	Runner-up
2020	Peru Para-Badminton International	Pilar Jáuregui	Emine Seçkin To Man-kei	14–21, 19–21	Runner-up

Mixed doubles WH1–WH2

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2013	French Para-Badminton International	Young-chin Mi	Marc Jung Elke Rongen	21–10, 21–7	Runner-up
			Pascal Barrillon Sofía Balsalobre	21–14, 23–21
			David Toupé Sonja Häsler	11–21, 14–21
2016	Irish Para-Badminton International	Young-chin Mi	Martin Rooke Karin Suter-Erath	12–21, 12–21	Runner-up
2018	Denmark Para-Badminton International	Young-chin Mi	Marcelo Alves Conceição Marcela Quinteros	19–21, 21–11, 11–21	Runner-up
2019	Uganda Para-Badminton International	Young-chin Mi	Konstantin Afinogenov Emine Seçkin	20–22, 21–19, 17–21	Runner-up

Notes and References

1. Web site: 4 May 2023. Valeska Knoblauch - Team Germany (in German). Team Deutschland.
2. Web site: 9 May 2020. Valeska Knoblauch: Maybe I can. Badminton Europe.
3. Web site: 4 May 2023. Paralympics: My Path - Valeska Knoblauch (in German). Sportschau.