India’s Sukant Kadam, Suhas Yathiraj, and Tarun secured impressive victories in their initial men’s singles matches in the SL4 category, marking a strong start to their para badminton campaign at the Paralympics. Sukant, aged 31, overcame an early setback to triumph 17-21, 21-15, 22-20 against Malaysia’s Mohammed Amin Burhanuddin in Group ‘B’, showcasing remarkable resilience by rallying from a 16-20 deficit in the decisive set.
Meanwhile, Suhas Yathiraj, the silver medalist at the Tokyo Paralympics, cruised to a straightforward win over Indonesia’s Hikmat Ramdani with a commanding score of 21-7, 21-5 in just 22 minutes in Group ‘A’. Tarun, competing in his second Olympics, displayed tenacity by defeating Brazil’s Oliveira Rogerio Junior Xavier 21-17, 21-19 in the men’s singles SLA Group ‘D’ match despite a knee injury sustained during a football game.
The SL4 category features athletes with lower limb impairments and minor balance issues during movement. Additionally, Nitesh Kumar and Thulasimathi Murugesan achieved a victorious start by defeating fellow Indians Suhas Yathiraj and Palak Kohli in the mixed doubles group stage (SL3-SU5) with a score of 21-14, 21-17 within 31 minutes.
On the flip side, Mandeep Kaur and Manasi Joshi faced defeats in their respective women’s singles (SL3) group stage matches. The mixed doubles pair of Sivarajan Solaimalai and Nithya Sre, seeded second, suffered a loss in straight games to the American duo of Miles Krajewski and Jayci Simon in the SH6 group stage match.
Notably, Manasi, a former world champion who underwent leg amputation following a 2011 road accident, exhibited a commendable performance by clinching the first game but ultimately succumbed to Indonesia’s Qonitah Ikhtiar Syakuroh with a score of 21-16, 13-21, 18-21 in Group ‘A’.
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