Pune: World No. 3 Sukant Kadam once again did India proud by winning back-to-back bronze medals at the Thailand Para Badminton International and FZ Forza Irish Para Badminton International 2017 respectively.
The ‘bronze double’ helped Sukant keep his medal-in-every-tournament quest intact. His medal count is presently eight from five tournaments, which includes three doubles titles.
In Thailand, the Nikhil Kanetkar Badminton Academy - NKBA trainee ran out of luck against top-seed and World No. 1 Lucas Mazur of France in the semi-finals of the ‘SL 4’ event. Sukant lost 21-7, 21-18 in a match that lasted 30 minutes at the Indoor Sports Training Centre, Bangkok, Thailand.
The loss to Lucas was his second this year with the first being in the semis round in the Spanish Para-Badminton.
Sukant’s run-up to the last-4 was seamless after a group stage (Round-3) three-game eye-opener against Chawarat Kitichokwattana (Thailand) 21-17, 18-21, 21-15.
Moving his campaign to Blanchardstown, Dublin, Sukant found his campaign end in the semi-final stage, only this time to unseeded Siripong Teamarrom (Thailand) 19-21, 21-16, 16-21 in a tough 42 minute encounter, at the National Indoor Arena, Dublin Ireland.
The medal was Sukant’s second in Ireland. Previously, he won bronze in 2016.
In the quarterfinals, second seeded Sukant accounted for No.3 Richard Nilsson (Sweden) 21-9, 16-21, 21-17 in a 32 minute encounter.
In doubles, Sukant, in company of Umesh Vikram Kumar, fell out of medal reckoning in the quarterfinals in both tournaments.
Sukant explained; “The competition in Europe as compared to Thailand was tough. Most of the opponents in Ireland I played for the first time. The experience and competitions was good exposure.”
NKBA Director and Head Coach Nikhil Kanetkar, added, “Sukant’s effort is all about the experience needed in his mission of making it to the 2020 Olympics. His journey has just begun. Yes winning a medal is impressive in two varied competitions.”
RESULTS: Irish Para-Badminton 2017
Singles, SF: l Siripong Teamarrom (Tha) 19-21, 21-16, 16-21 - 42 min
QF: b 3-Richard Nilsson (Swe) 21-9, 16-21, 21-17 - 32 min
Group-B
R2: b Bobby Griffin (Eng) 21-10, 21-14 - 31 mins
R1: b Jan-Niklas Pott (Ger) 21-14, 15-21, 21-16 - 35 mins
Doubles, QF: l 4-Jan-Niklas Pott (Ger) / Pascal Wolter (Ger) 21-7, 21-16 - 20 min
PQF: b Daniel Lee (Eng) / William Smith (Eng) 22-20, 21-18 - 30 min
Group-E
R3: b Rickard Nilsson (Swe) / Mark Waller (Eng) 21-15, 21-18 - 20 mins
R2: b Kumar Nitesh (Ind)/ Anguiano Raul (Gua) 21-9, 21-19 - 17 mins
R1: b Xavier Debavelaere (Fra)/ Bas Den Turck (Ned) 21-12, 21-11 - 21 mins
RESULTS: Thailand Para-Badminton, 2017
Singles, SFs: lost to 1-Lucas Mazur (Fra) 7-21, 18-21 – 30 mins
QF: b Muhammad Norhilmie Mohd Zainudin (Mas) 21-19, 21-13 – 20 mins
Group-C
R3: b Chawarat Kitichokwattana (Tha) 21-17, 18-21, 21-15 – 40 min
R2: b Nakamura Kaito (Jap) 21-6, 21-18 – 31 min
R1: b Muhamad Zulfatihi Jaafar (Mas) 21-9, 21-6 – 25 min
Doubles, QF: l Fujihara Daisuke (Jpn)/ Fredy Setiawan (Ina) 11-21, 14-21
Group-D
R3: b Kim Chang Man (Kor)/ Takeuchi Shumpei (Jpn) 21-16, 21-8
R2: l Mohd Sibil Guri/ Bakri Omar (Mas) 12-21, 21-17, 15-21
R1: b Siripong Teamarrom/ Subpong Meepian (Tha) 21-10, 13-21, 21-18
SL 4: Athletes in this sport class have a lesser impairment; they generally run faster and have better balance. These athletes play full-court. You might expect to see athletes with impairment in one or both lower limbs, unilateral polio or mild cerebral palsy.
