Indian para-badminton star Manisha Ramdass has advanced to the women’s singles semifinals in the SU5 category at the Paris Paralympics, keeping India’s medal hopes alive. However, Mandeep Kaur and Palak Kohli’s campaigns ended in the quarterfinals with contrasting defeats.
Ramdass, 19, who has Erb’s palsy affecting her right arm, dominated Japan’s Mamiko Toyoda 21-13, 21-16 in the quarterfinals. The second-seeded Indian needed just 30 minutes to dispatch her unseeded opponent. In the SU5 category, players have impairments in their upper limbs.
In the SL3 category, Mandeep Kaur faced a tough challenge against Nigeria’s third-seeded Bolaji Mariam Eniola, losing 8-21, 9-21 in 23 minutes. It was her second consecutive defeat to Eniola, having lost in the group stage as well. The SL3 category is for players with severe lower-limb disabilities who compete on a half-width court.
Palak Kohli, a para world championship bronze medalist, fought hard in the SL4 category but fell short against Indonesia’s Khalimatus Sadiyah 19-21, 15-21 in 28 minutes. SL4 is a class for athletes with less severe lower-limb impairments than in SL3.
Later in the day, Nithya Sivan Sumathy will compete in the quarterfinals of the SH6 category against Poland’s Oliwia Szmigiel. In the men’s singles, Suhas Yathiraj and Sukant Kadam will face off in an all-Indian semifinal in the SL4 category. Nitesh Kumar will take on Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara in the SL3 category semifinal.
