Two badminton players and a judoka have been picked for Tokyo 2020 by Paralympics Australia ©Getty Images

Grant Manzoney, Caitlin Dransfield and Wayne Phipps have all been selected to make Paralympic debuts for Australia at Tokyo 2020.

Shuttlers Manzoney and Dransfield are off to the Games for the first time as their sport, badminton, is also making a Paralympic bow.

"It’s great just getting to the Paralympics but, to be the first two athletes to represent Australia in badminton, the first time the sport’s been included, I’m still tingling," said Manzoney, who will compete in the men's WH2 class.

"There’s been a lot of hard work go into it, a lot of blood, sweat and tears, lots of ups and downs and times when you think you’re stagnating, but then you turn a corner and get going again.

"Those experiences have allowed me to grow in the sport but also as a person.

"It’s allowed me to personally flourish, which I really appreciate."

Dransfield will compete in the women's SL4.

The addition of badminton and the Paralympics could mark huge growth for the sport and Australia's Chef de Mission, Kate McLoughlin, thinks Dransfield and Manzoney have have "done such an amazing job" to be picked.

"Their task now is to produce their very best performances and announce that Australian badminton is here to stay," McLoughlin added.

"I look forward to doing everything possible to help them enjoy the experience and realise their potential at the Games."


Meanwhile, judoka Wayne Phipps is set to become Australia's first Paralympic judo representative since Anthony Clarke in 2008.

Clarke's gold medal at Atlanta 1996 remains the only gold won by an Australian judoka at either the Olympics or Paralympics.

South African-born Phipps, who moved to Australia in 2010, was diagnosed with an eye condition in 2015 and then made aware of the Paralympic judo programme.

"Australia is my home," the 48-year-old said.

"The support I’ve been given from Australia in general, from my judo coach and Paralympics Australia, and more recently WAIS [Western Australian Institute of Sport] - I would never have experienced that where I come from.

"I've got so much appreciation for that support.

"Given my age, for Paralympics Australia to say, 'We’ll back this guy and see what he can do' was, for me, amazing.

"I’m really over the moon."