Badminton
7 Indian players Reach Final at Fazza Para-Badminton International
Asian powerhouses China, Indonesia and India once again stamped their authority booking 24 slots in the finals of the 2nd Fazza-Dubai Para Badminton International here, that will played on Sunday.
For China, who are participating in big numbers unlike the past year, the participation was important in terms of Tokyo 2020 qualification points while India are fielding the largest contingent with around 40 players.
Tarun in finals
India's Tarun 21-15, 21-14 defeated Setiawan in a repeat of the Indonesia 2018 Asian Para Games finals. Now, World no.1 Lucas Mazur awaits Tarun in the final. Both of them have been the finalist at the 2017 World Championships.
Mazur, who had also reached the final of the SL3-SU5 mixed doubles event, later said it will be an “interesting match” with Tarun being one of his toughest competitors of late.
Tarun Image :Asian paralympic CommitteeIndia's Nagar shocks World no. 1
However, the biggest upset of the day came in the evening session, when India's Krishna Nagar shocked World no. 1 Jack Shepherd in straight games 21-16, 21-14 after some attacking rallies.
"I have beaten him in the Turkish International final so I was confident that I could do it again. I hope I can convert the silver in Turkey with a gold medal here," said Nagar who meets another English player Krysten Coombs in the final.
Krishna Nagar and Jack Shepherd Image: Asian paralympic CommitteeOtherwise, India had a good outing at the Dubai meet with their seven players reaching the final.
In the women's SL3, it will be an all-Indian affair with Parul Parmer facing off Manshi Joshi for the title, while Japanese top seed Ayako Suzuki taking on Chinese Yang Qiuxia in women’s singles SU5 summit clash.
Elsewhere, top stars including Indian Pramod Bhagat, Korean Kim Jung jun, Malaysian Like Hou Cheah and Chan Ho Yeun from Hong Kong all advancing. Jung jun was infact lucky to survive a scare from his fellow Korean Kim Kyung Hoon as he rallied to win 15-21, 21-9, 21-18 in men’s singles WH2 event.
By: Asian Paralympic Committee