Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

Paralympics 2024: India Showcases Prowess in Badminton & Archery on Day One

Aruna suffered a massive injury but got back up to fight, not willing to lose without giving her everything

Paralympics 2024 have started on August 29 and India has got off to a rocky start. While the contingent has won the initial rounds of few events, a few other witnessed some of the Indian athletes getting pushed to the edge and almost on the verge of an early exit. The first day witnessed archery and badminton stars shine but athletes in other events faltered.

Mixed doubles SL/SU

The day started with an all Indian affair as the pairs of Murugesan-K. Nitesh and S. LalinakereYathiraj-P. Kohli clashed against each other in the badminton Mixed doubles SL/SU group stage. The first match went in the favour of Nitesh Kumar and ThulasimathiMurugesanwith scores of 21-14, 21-17. While the winners have found a cushion, it is crucial for the duo of S. LalinakereYathiraj-P. Kohli is to win the next two matches if they wish to proceed to the quarterfinal round.

Mixed doubles SH6

In the badminton mixed doubles SH6 category group stage, the duo of S. Solaimalai-N.S. Sivan went against the American pair of J. Simon-M. Krajewski and suffered a heavy defeat. The Indian pair lost by scores of 23-21 and must win their next match against the badminton pair from Thailand.

Women's Singles SL3

The badminton women's singles SL3 saw both Indian athletes lose their first respective games. Former world no. 1 Manashi Joshi lost against Indonesia's Syakuroh, with scores of 21-16, 13-21, and 18-21 going in Syakuroh's favour. On the other hand, Mandeep Kaur also lost to Nigeria's Mariam Bolaji. Mandeep must win her next match against Australia's Celine, and Manashi must win her next game at any cost to ensure her survival in the tourney.

Women's 47kg K44

Aruna Singh Tanwar faced NurcihanEkinci in the Taekwondo 47kg K44 category but lost by 19-0 points. However, Tanwar suffered a grievous injury but did not give up and fought until the end. Her journey seems over, but she still has a chance if she can overcome her injury and get a shot at a repechage round.

Men's singles SL4

Three Indian athletes simultaneously took the stage against their opponents in the men's badminton singles SL4 category. SukantKadam showcased a dream Paralympics debut by defeating Malaysian 4th seed Burhanuddin. On the other hand, reigning world champion SuhasYathiraj had a comfortable win against RamdaniHikmat. In Group D, TarunDhillon also started his campaign with a win against Brazil's Oliviera.

Women's Pursuit C1-3

Cyclist JyotiGaderiya failed to reach the women's C1-3 3000m individual pursuit. Finishing at the bottom in the 10-athlete group with a timing 4:53.929, Gaderiya needed a top-four finish to remain in medal contention. She is the first Indian athlete in the ongoing tourney to crash out of the tournament on day one.

Men's Singles SL3

The badminton men's singles SL3 event is also an all-Indian affair, with Manoj Sarkar taking on Nitesh Kumar. Kumar stunned 2020 bronze medallist Sarkar with 21-13, 18-21 and 21-18 going in his favour.

Women's singles SL4

In the badminton Women's singles SL4, Palak Kohli etched a convincing victory in Group C. Against France's Milena Surreau, Palak won with 21-12 and 21-14 sets, not allowing the game to proceed to the third round. With the win, Palak should qualify for the next round.

Women's singles SU5

In the badminton women's singles SU5 category, T. Murugesan faced R. De Marco from Italy. Murugesan dominated the first round with 21 points to Marco’s nine. Even the second round went in the Indian’s favour with 21 points to the Italian’s 11.

Archery

In the women’s compound ranking round, Sheetal Devi finished second with a personal best of 703 points and proceeded to the next round. Final event of the day involving an Indian participate, the men’s recurve ranking round witnessed Harvinder Singh finishing in theninth position with 637 points, qualifying for the next round. The mixed team recurve finished in the seventh spot with 637 points.

Paralympic athlete Pooja finished in the eighth position in the women’s recurve whereas in the mixed recurve, she along with Harvinder grabbed the fifth position. Men’s compound event ended with Rakesh Kumar grabbing the third sport and in the mixed compound event, the duo of S Devi and Kumar topped the table.

Women's Singles SU5

In the badminton women’s singles SU5 category, ManishaRamadass showcased a brilliant comeback of 21-6 after losing the first round by 8-21 to Maud Lefort of France. In the deciding game, Ramadass won with scoreline of 21 to 19.

Women's Singles SH6

The badminton women's singles SH6 witnessed NithyaSreSivan taking on the United States’ Jayci Simon. Nithya also dazzled the audience with her badminton skill, winning both rounds in a dominant manner.

Men's singles SH6

SivarajanSolaimalai battled against Indonesia’s SubhanSubhan but unfortunately, lost both the rounds with sets of 21-15 and 21-17 in the Indonesian’s favour.

Day one saw India perform brilliantly in badminton and archery but athletes in other events had a rocky start, hoping to pick up the momentum on day two.