Who is Kevin Cordon? The Olympics 2021 badminton semifinalist from Guatemala

Guatemalan shuttler Kevin Cordon defeated Heo Kwanghee of South Korea in the quarterfinals of the men's singles tournament at Olympics 2021. He won 21-13 21-18 in 42 minutes to book his place in the semifinals.

Cordon will face either Anders Antonsen of Denmark or Sinisuka Anthony Ginting of Indonesia in his semifinal match.

His performance in the men's singles tournament has been one of the surprises of this year's Olympics.

Kevin Cordon hails from Guatemala. The country has clinched only one medal in the history of the Olympics. Since badminton is not a popular sport in Guatemala, Kevin Cordon's exploits at the Olympics are a big achievement. He is the first-ever badminton player from Guatemala to reach the semifinals of the Games.

Until today, Guatemala #GUA has only won ONE #Olympics EVERThe country with population less than half of Jawa Barat will compete for their second ever medal in the sport that is not even popular: #BADMINTONKevin Cordon, the history maker.He plays with his heart📷: AFP pic.twitter.com/w8nVvPmsXh

— Badminton Talk (@BadmintonTalk) July 31, 2021

Cordon, who turned 34 in November last year, is appearing in his fourth Olympics. He has been a regular at the Summer Games since Beijing 2008.

His impressive run at the Tokyo Games inspired Indian badminton star Parupalli Kashyap. The Indian shuttler tweeted thanking Kevin Cordon.

#KevinCordon Thank you 🙏 . Falling in love with badminton all over again . #Badminton #Tokyo2020

— Parupalli Kashyap (@parupallik) July 31, 2021

Kevin Cordon's rank

Kevin Cordon is an all-round player and regularly plays singles and doubles badminton. He is currently ranked 56th in the men's singles. He attained his highest singles ranking in April 2012 when he rose to No. 24 in the world.

Kevin Cordon's famous medal wins

Kevin Cordon has won two gold, one silver and one bronze at the Pan American Games, and three gold, two silver and four bronze at the Pan American Badminton Championships. The shuttler has won eight gold, one silver and two bronze medals in the Central American and Caribbean Games.

Overall, Kevin Cordon has a win-loss ratio of 450-141 in his professional career.

In 2018, Cordon was honored with the Medal of Peace by the Ministry of Culture and Sport in Guatemala. The award is presented to individuals who promote art, culture and sports in Guatemala.