India’s para-badminton contingent enjoyed a successful day at the Paris Paralympics on Friday, with two players securing their spots in the men’s singles semifinals. Suhas Yathiraj, the Tokyo Games silver medalist, triumphed over Korea’s Shin Kyung Hwan in the SL4 category with scores of 26-24, 21-14 in his second match, topping Group A. Yathiraj, a 2007 batch IAS officer, will now compete in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Nitesh Kumar, an IIT Mandi graduate, dominated his match against China’s Yang Jianyuan in the SL3 category, winning 21-5, 21-11. This victory ensured a top-two finish in Group A for Kumar, who suffered permanent leg damage due to an accident in 2009. He will face Thailand’s Bunsun Mongkhon in his final Group A match.
In the women’s singles SU5 category, Murugesan Thulasimathi also booked her place in the semifinals. She secured a dominant victory over Beatriz Monteiro of Portugal in her last group match, winning 21-12, 21-8. Thulasimathi, who topped Group A, expressed her confidence in doing her best in the semifinals. “The match was quite good, but not so easy one. I have qualified for the semifinals. I hope to do my best,” she said.
However, not all Indian players were as fortunate. Manasi Joshi, the 2019 World Champion, suffered a narrow loss to Ukraine’s Oksana Kozyna in her second SL3 Group A match. She had also lost her opening match to Indonesia’s Qonitah Ikhtiar Syakuroh on Thursday. Tokyo bronze medalist Manoj Sarkar also faced a setback, losing 19-21, 8-21 to Bunsun in his second Group A match, following an earlier defeat to compatriot Nitesh on Thursday. He will next face Yang on Friday.
The SL4 category caters to athletes with lower limb impairments and minor balance issues while walking or running. SL3 is for players with more severe lower limb disabilities, requiring play on a half-width court. The women’s SL5 singles competition features Thulasimathi, who needed just 26 minutes to defeat her Portuguese opponent in straight games. The group toppers in A and C directly advance to the semifinals, while the top two in Group B and the second-place finishers in Groups A and C move to a knockout round for the remaining semifinal spots. Athletes in the SU5 class have upper limb impairments.
On Thursday night, Nitesh and Thulasimathi faced a tough match in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 group stage, losing to Indonesia’s Ramdani Hikmat and Oktila Leani Ratri with scores of 15-21, 8-21. Suhas Yathiraj and Palak Kohli also experienced a defeat in their second Group A mixed doubles match against France’s Lucas Mazur and Faustine Noel, losing 15-21, 9-21. The Indian para-badminton team will be hoping to continue their strong performance and bring home some medals from Paris.
