Paralympics: Kadam, Yathiraj reach semis, confirm medal for India

Debutant Sukant thrashes Thailand's Teamarrom Siripong 21-12 21-12 to top group B and will clash with Suhas, a Tokyo silver medallist

Paris: India’s Sukant Kadam set up a men’s singles SL4 semifinal clash against compatriot Suhas Yathiraj to assure India of a medal in para badminton but Krishna Nagar’s title defence ended in agony following an ankle injury at the Paris Paralympics.

There was heartbreak in store for mixed doubles pair of Sivarajan Solaimalai and Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan as the second seeded duo squandered an opening game advantage to go down 21-17 14-21 13-21 to USA’s Miles Krajewski and Jayci Simon in SH6 semifinals on Saturday. The Indian duo will now play in the bronze medal play off.

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Earlier, debutant Sukant thrashed Thailand’s Teamarrom Siripong 21-12 21-12 to top group B and will clash with Suhas, a Tokyo silver medallist, in the semifinal to ensure a final finish for India in SL4 class, which is meant for athletes with lower limb impairments and minor balance issues in walking or running.

Nitesh Kumar, who had won a silver medal in the Asian Para Games last year, also qualified for the semifinals of men’s singles SL3 category after recording a straight-game win in his last group match. Nitesh topped Group A after outplaying Mongkhon Bunsun of Thailand 21-13 21-14, notching up his third successive win.

However, it was a heartbreaking end to Krishna’s campaign as he twisted his ankle during his must-win SH6 group B match against Thailand’s Meechai Natthapong. Following his loss against Miles Krajewski, Krishna needed to win the match with a good point difference to stay in the hunt but he sustained the injury while lagging 20-22 3-11 and was forced to retire.

“I had to win in straight games to reach knockout, but I lost the opening game but luck hasn’t been on my side. My ankle twisted in second game, so I had to retired. I will try to comeback stronger next time,” Krishna said after the match. For Sukant, this was his second consecutive win in the three-player group.

“It’s my debut tournament. I am so happy to qualify for the semifinals,” said Sukant, who had won a bronze in the Asian Para Games last year. “I was well prepared for today’s game. The first match was much tougher than this. And against him I have played plenty of times and I was very confident. So, I wanted to go one point at a time and then I played really well.”

In the men’s SL4 competition, only the toppers from each of the four groups qualify for the semifinals. In SL3 class, which is meant for players with severe lower limb disability competing on half-width court, the top two finishers from each of the two groups qualify for the semifinals.

Therefore, apart from Nitesh, Bunsun also qualified for the semifinals as the second-place finisher from group A. In the group A, Tokyo Paralympics bronze medallist Manoj Sarkar, who has already bowed out of the tournament, beat Yang Jianyuan of China 21-1 21-11. Manoj had earlier lost to Bunsun and Nitesh.

In SL4, Tarun Dhillon, however, couldn’t make it to the semifinals after finishing second in group D following his 7-21 16-21 loss to France’s Lucas Mazur, who topped the group. In men’s SL4 competition, only the toppers from each of the four groups qualify for the semifinals.

Meanwhile, Mandeep Kaur entered the quarterfinals of the women’s singles SL 3 category after defeating Australia’s Vinot Celine Aurelie in the women’s singles SL 3 event on Saturday. Mandeep regrouped to win her last group B match 21-23 21-10 21-17 against her Australian rival. She had lost her opening match to Nigeria’s Bolaji Mariam.

The Indian finished second in the three-player group B to book a quarterfinal spot. Mariam topped the group to enter the semifinals. The toppers of group A and C directly advanced to the semifinals. The top two teams in group B as well as second-place finishers in group A and C compete in the quarterfinal for the two remaining semifinal spots.