PARIS: Indian women’s singles para-badminton campaign at the ongoing Paris Paralympics picked up momentum on Thursday as para-shuttlers Palak Kohli, Thulasimathi Murugesan, Manisha Ramdass and Nithya Sre secured wins in their respective group stage matches.
Palak, placed in SL4 Group C, secured a win over France’s Milenna Surreau by 21-12, 21-14. Thulasimathi, placed in Group A of the SU5 category and Manisha, placed in Group C of the SU5 category, also secured fine wins. Thulasimathi beat Italy’s Rosa De Marco by 21-9, 21-11 while Manisha outclassed France’s Maud Lefort by 8-21, 21-6, 21-19.
Nithya, placed in Group A of the SH6 category, defeated Jayci Simon of the USA by 21-7, 21-8. Now, except Nithya, who has three matches left, other players are left with two matches which will determine if they qualify for knockouts or not.
Earlier in the women’s badminton competition, Manasi Joshi, placed in Group A, the World Championships 2019 gold medalist, squared off against Indonesia’s Qontiah Ikhitar Syakuroh. Despite the Indian taking the first game, Syakuroh bounced back in the next two sets to beat Manasi (21-16, 13-21, 18-21) in the first round.
In the other women’s singles match, Group B’s Mandeep Kaur encountered a challenge from Nigeria’s Mariam Eniola Bolaji. Mandeep fell to Nigerian in two successive games by 8-21, 14-21 to bow out of the competition.
Both Indian para-shuttlers have two matches each in their groups and they will have to win it in order to keep their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages alive.
This year, India has sent its largest contingent ever to the Paralympics, comprising 84 athletes across 12 sports, a testament to the country’s expanding para-sports ecosystem. India’s participation in the Paris 2024 Paralympics marks not only a significant increase in numbers but also in medal hopes, as the nation aims to surpass its previous achievements in Tokyo.
In the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, the Indian badminton contingent secured a total of four medals, including two gold, a silver and a bronze medal each. Tokyo 2020 was India’s most successful Paralympic Games, with the country winning 19 medals, including five golds, eight silver and six bronzes. (ANI)