Indian para shuttlers Sukant Kadam and Suhas Yathiraj have together secured a medal for the country in the men’s singles SL4 category of the Paris Paralympic Games 2024. Sukant secured a place in the semi-finals on Saturday (August 31).
Since both the badminton players are participating in the same event, at least one medal is assured for the country, because if both the players lose in the last-four stage, they will face each other in the bronze medal match and if they win, the colour of the medal will change.
Sukant registered a 21-12, 21-12 win over Thailand’s Teamarom Siripong in his second Group B match, ensuring him the top spot in the group. Tokyo Paralympics silver medallist and top seed Suhas had already secured his place in the semi-finals by topping Group A. The semi-finals will be played on September 1 (Sunday), only then the colour and number (one or two) of the medals will be decided.
However, Aarti won a bronze in women’s 10000m race walk event with national U20 record time to open India’s medal account. The 17-year-old Aarti clocked 44 minutes 39.39 seconds to finish third in the event.
Aarti broke her own earlier national record of 47:21.04 which she had clocked in March while winning gold in the National Federation Cup U20 Championships in Lucknow.
Chinese race walkers Zhuoma Baima (43:26.60) and Meiling Chen (44:30.67) took the gold and silver respectively. In the women’s 4x400m relay heats, the Indian quartet of Rujula Amol Bhonsle, Neole Anna Cornelio, Abinaya Rajarajan and Sudheeksha Vadluri also rewrote the national U20 record, clocking 45.31 seconds.
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