Paralympic Games: Sukant will face Suhas in the semi-finals; Nitesh also won

India’s Sukant Kadam ensured a medal for India in para badminton by reaching the men’s singles SL4 semifinals against compatriot Suhas Yathiraj but Krishna Nagar’s title defence campaign ran into trouble after he suffered an ankle injury at the Paris Paralympics.

It was heartbreak for mixed doubles pair of Sivarajan Solaimalai and Nithya Sri Sumathi Sivan on Saturday as the second-seeded pair lost the first game to lose 21-17, 14-21, 13-21 to Miles Krajewski and Jesse Simon of the USA in the SH6 semi-finals.

The Indian pair will now play the playoff for the bronze medal.

Earlier, debutant Sukanth defeated Thailand’s Teamarom Siripong 21-12, 21-12 to top Group B and will now face Tokyo silver medallist Suhas in the semi-finals, ensuring India’s last spot in the SL4 category. This category is for athletes who have a disability in the lower limbs and have mild balance issues while walking or running.

Nitesh Kumar, who won a silver medal at the Asian Para Games last year, also qualified for the semi-finals of the men’s singles SL3 category after registering a straight-game win in his final group match.

Nitesh defeated Thailand’s Mongkhon Bunsan 21-13, 21-14 to top Group A and register his third consecutive win.

However, Krishna’s campaign ended on a sad note as he sprained his ankle during the SH6 Group B match against Thailand’s Meichai Natthapong.

After the loss against Miles Krajewski, Krishna needed to win the match by a good points margin to stay in the race but he suffered an injury while trailing 20-22, 3-11 and had to retire from the match.

“I had to win straight games to reach the knockouts but I lost the first game and luck was not on my side. I twisted my ankle in the second game so I had to retire. I will try to come back stronger next time,” Krishna said after the match.

For Sukant, this was his second consecutive win in the group of three players.

“This is my first tournament. I am very happy to have qualified for the semi-finals,” said Sukanth, who won a bronze medal at the Asian Para Games last year.

“I was well prepared for today’s game. The first match was much tougher than this one. And I have played against him many times and I was very confident. So, I wanted to take one point at a time and then I played really well.” In the men’s SL4 competition, only the top finishers from the four groups qualify for the semifinals.

In the SL3 class, which is for players with severe lower limb disability who compete on a half-width court, the top two players from each of the two groups qualify for the semi-finals.

Therefore, apart from Nitesh, Bunson also qualified for the semi-finals by finishing second from Group A.

In Group A, Tokyo Paralympics bronze medallist Manoj Sarkar, who has already been eliminated from the tournament, defeated China’s Yang Jianyuan 21-1, 21-11. Manoj had earlier lost to Bunson and Nitesh.

In SL4, however, Tarun Dhillon could not make it to the semi-finals after finishing second in Group D. He lost 7-21, 16-21 to Lucas Mazur of France. Mazur was at the top of the group.

In the men’s SL4 competition, only the top finishers from the four groups qualify for the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Mandeep Kaur entered the quarterfinals of the women’s singles SL3 category after defeating Vinot Celine Aureli of Australia in the women’s singles SL3 event on Saturday.

Mandeep won 21-23, 21-10, 21-17 against her Australian opponent in her last Group B match. She had lost her first match to Bolaji Mariam of Nigeria.

The Indian player finished second in the three-player Group B and made it to the quarterfinals. Maryam topped the group and reached the semifinals.

The top teams from Groups A and C advanced directly to the semifinals. The top two teams from Group B and the second-placed teams in Groups A and C compete in the quarterfinals for the remaining two semifinal places.

In women’s singles SU5, which is for athletes with upper limb disabilities, second seed Manisha Ramdas lost 15-21, 7-21 to Yang Qiu Xia and finished second in Group C.

The Indian player’s right hand was damaged before birth due to a doctor’s mistake, so she will play the quarter-finals, while the Chinese player has reached the semi-finals after topping the group.

Top seed Nitya Sri Sumathi Sivan in women’s singles SH6 lost 20-22, 18-21 to Lin Shuangbao of China in her third match to finish second in the group.

The 19-year-old from Tamil Nadu, who won two bronze medals at the 2022 Asian Para Games, will play the quarter-finals while her opponent will get a bye into the semi-finals.

In men’s singles SH6, Sivarajan Solaimalai ended his campaign with his third consecutive defeat, losing 12-21, 10-21 to Kristen Coombs of Great Britain.