Mandeep Kaur Advances to Quarterfinals in Women’s Singles SL3 at Paris Paralympics
New Delhi: Indian shuttler Mandeep Kaur has secured her place in the quarterfinals of the women’s singles SL3 event at the Paris Paralympics. On Saturday, she triumphed over Australia’s Vinot Celine Aurelie with scores of 21-23, 21-10, 21-17. Despite an earlier loss to Nigeria’s Bolaji Mariam, Mandeep’s strong performance in her final group match ensured she finished second in Group B and progressed to the next stage. Bolaji Mariam, who topped the group, advanced directly to the semifinals, along with the leaders from Groups A and C. The second-place finishers from Groups A, B, and C will compete for the remaining semifinal spots.
The SL3 class is for athletes with severe lower limb disabilities, competing on a half-width court.
In other mixed doubles SL3 matches on Friday night, Indian pairs faced stiff competition. Suhas Yathiraj and Palak Kohli were defeated 11-21, 17-21 by the top-seeded Indonesian duo of Hikmat Ramdani and Leani Ratri Oktila. Additionally, Nitesh Kumar and Thulasimathi Murugesan lost 22-24, 19-21 to the French team of Faustine Noel and Lucas Mazur. However, Nithya Sivan Sumathy and Sivarajan Solaimalai managed to secure a win, overcoming Thailand’s Natthapong Meechai and Chai Saeyang with scores of 21-7, 21-17.
On Saturday, Indian athletes Nitesh Kumar, Krishna Nagar, Manoj Sarkar, Sukant Kadam, Sivarajan Solaimalai, and Tarun will be competing in various men’s singles events, while Manisha Ramdass and Nithya Sivan Sumathy will be in action in the women’s singles categories.