Paris [France], August 31 : India's para-badminton campaign at the ongoing Paris Paralympics continued to go well as Nitesh Kumar, Manoj Sarkar and Sukant Kadam secured wins in men's competition while Mandeep Kaur got a win in women's singles competition on Saturday.
While Manoj Sarkar did not make it to the knockout stages, Sukant and Nitesh made it to the knockout stages.
Placed in SL3 Group A, Nitesh defeated Thailand's Mongkhon Bunsun by 21-13, 21-14 within two straight games. He made it to the knockouts with a perfect record of three wins in three matches.
Manoj secured a win against China's Yang Jianyuan by 21-15, 21-11. However, he could not qualify for the knockouts as he finished third out of four in his group A with just a win in three matches. The Tokyo Paralympics 2020 bronze medalist will be returning home without a men's singles medal.
Sukant is placed in Group B of SL4 category and reached the knockout stage with a win over Thailand's Siripong Teamarrom by 21-12, 21-12. He secured two wins in two games to make it to the next round.
Meanwhile, in the women's singles competition, Mandeep, placed in the Group B of the SL3 category, notched her first win of the group stage by beating Celine Vinot of Australia by 21-23, 21-10, 21-17 in a great come-from-behind effort. She also reached the knockout stage.
In the ongoing Paralympics, India has secured four medals, including a gold, silver and two bronze medals. Avani Lekhara secured a historic gold in the women's R2 10 m air rifle standing SH1 shooting competition, securing back-to-back golds in two different Paralympics events. Mona Agarwal also secured the bronze medal in the same competition.
India's silver medal came in shooting as well, with Manish Narwal getting a silver medal in the men's P1 10 m air pistol SH1 competition. In the previous Paralympics as well, he secured a gold medal in the mixed P4 50 metre pistol SH1 event.
Athlete Preethi Pal secured a bronze medal in the women's T35 100 m race. Preethi secured third place and won the bronze medal after clocking 14.21 seconds, which is also her personal best.
This year, India has sent its largest Paralympics contingent ever, 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.
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