Matthew Abela

Matthew Abela
Born	(1999-03-18) March 18, 1999 Pietà, Malta
Occupation	Badminton player
Years active	2011–present
Known for	Representing Malta in badminton at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Matthew Abela (born 18 March 1999) is a Maltese badminton athlete representing the Paola badminton club. He took part in the men's singles event during the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Career

Starting badminton at the age of five under his father's guidance, Abela trained with the Paola badminton club and earned a spot on Malta's national team in 2011. By 2019, he had claimed eleven national junior titles in the under-19 category. His international debut in junior competitions occurred in 2013, and in 2017 he advanced his development by joining Badminton Europe's Centre of Excellence located in Holbæk, Denmark.

By 2021, Abela had accumulated six men's singles titles and one mixed doubles championship at the Maltese National Badminton Championships. He gained entry to the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics through an invitation from the IOC Tripartite Commission, marking him as Malta's inaugural Olympic badminton competitor.

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England, he competed in doubles alongside Sam Cassar.

In 2024, partnering with Maxim Grinblat, Abela secured the gold medal in Men’s Doubles at the South Africa International, overcoming Dorian James and Robert Summers in the final match.

Personal life

Abela supports Liverpool F.C. and regards Steven Gerrard as his favourite football player.

BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title, 3 runners-up)

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2023	Kampala International	Template:Country data ISRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Maxim Grinblat	Template:Country data UGATemplate:Namespace detect showall Brian Kasirye Template:Country data UGATemplate:Namespace detect showall Muzafaru Lubega	15–21, 14–21	Runner-up
2023	Uganda International	Template:Country data ISRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Maxim Grinblat	Template:Country data UGATemplate:Namespace detect showall Brian Kasirye Template:Country data UGATemplate:Namespace detect showall Muzafaru Lubega	Walkover	Runner-up
2024	Botswana International	Template:Country data ISRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Maxim Grinblat	Template:Country data AZETemplate:Namespace detect showall Agil Gabilov Template:Country data AZETemplate:Namespace detect showall Dicky Dwi Pangestu	8–21, 15–21	Runner-up
2024	South Africa International	Template:Country data ISRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Maxim Grinblat	Template:Country data RSATemplate:Namespace detect showall Dorian James Template:Country data RSATemplate:Namespace detect showall Robert Summers	10–21, 21–19, 22–20	Winner

BWF International Challenge tournament

BWF International Series tournament

BWF Future Series tournament