Top seeded Indian para badminton player Nitesh Kumar performed well in the semi-finals and won the Paris Paralympics 2024. After which he will now compete in the final for the gold medal. In the semi-finals, Nitesh defeated Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara in straight games and entered the final of the men’s singles SL3 category to ensure a medal.
On the other hand, Nitya Sivan Sumati defeated Poland’s Olivia Szmigil 21-4, 21-7 in the quarter-finals of the women’s SH6 category. She will face China’s Lin Shuangbao in the semi-finals. This Chinese player had defeated Nitya in a close match in the group stage.
Earlier, Manisha Ramdas made it to the women’s singles semi-finals in the SU5 category where she will face compatriot Thulasimati Murugesan, ensuring India a medal in the event. Manisha had a birth defect in her right hand. The 19-year-old had no trouble defeating Japan’s Mamiko Toyoda 21-13 21-16 in the quarter-finals. The second seeded Indian player knocked out her unseeded opponent in just 30 minutes.
In the last four, Manisha will face top seed Tulsimati, who defeated Portugal’s Beatriz Monteiro in Group A on Saturday. In the men’s singles semi-finals in the SL4 category, two Indian players Suhas Yatiraj and Sukant Kadam will face each other. In this way, both of them had confirmed India’s first medal in badminton. Earlier, Mandeep Kaur and Palak Kohli failed to advance beyond the quarter-finals.
Playing in the SL3 category, Mandeep could not pose any challenge to third seed Bolaji Mariam Eniola of Nigeria and lost the match 8-21, 9-21 in 23 minutes. This is Mandeep’s second consecutive defeat against Eniola. Earlier, she had also lost to the Nigerian player in the group stage. In the SL4 category, Para World Championship bronze medalist Palak lost to Indonesia’s Khalimatus Saadiah 19-21, 15-21 in 28 minutes.
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