# Rajiv Ouseph

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

## Career

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. 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.
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.
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.

## Achievements
### Commonwealth Games

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

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

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

### BWF World Tour

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, 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.
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

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

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

* 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

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