Aussie badminton ace Vinot draws on ‘home Games’ feel

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Aussie badminton ace Vinot draws on ‘home Games’ feel

Celine Vinot is likely to find plenty of support in the crowd as she plots her path to claiming Australia’s first para-badminton medal in Paris.

Para-badminton, which is played by both standing and seated athletes, made its Paralympic debut in Tokyo.

Vinot is due to make her maiden bow at a Paralympics on Friday (local time) and will compete in the SL3 classification for standing athletes.

And the 27-year-old’s route to any success in the French capital is likely to be helped by a big home crowd.

Vinot’s father is French and her *********** mother has spent the last few months rounding up the Victorian’s extended family to ensure she has an edge over her opponents.

“I have no idea how many people are going to turn up because my mum is coordinating it all but I am expecting a lot of cousins,” Vinot told AAP.

“Dad is one of five and his siblings, all of them have three or four kids each.

“It will be great to have big support and no language barrier.

“I speak French at home because my parents wanted us to learn the language and I went to a ***-lingual school so it feels like a home Games in a way.”

The familiar surroundings should provide Vinot with a strong platform to build on an impressive showing at the last two world championships when the Melburnian has finished fifth in the singles.

Vinot, who was born with cerebral palsy, says those performances have made her realise she can challenge – even if she’s reluctant to eye off a spot on the podium. “I was saying to myself, ‘I can actually compete’,” Vinot said.

“I’m quite confident that I can play my best at the Games.

“If that puts me into a medal position that’s fantastic, I don’t want to say I’m a medal chance but it will all depend on what happens on the day.

“There’s lots going on in my head these days because I’ve never played in front of a big crowd like we will in Paris.

“If I play really well then there is nothing to say I can’t medal and that would be fantastic for the sport.”

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