Kim Seung Suk of Korea upset top seed Ikumi Fuke of Japan to make the Women’s Singles Wheelchair WH 1 final at the Australia Para-Badminton International 2018 in Geelong today.
Kim beat Fuke 18-21 21-18 21-14 to secure her place in the final against second seed Sarina Satomi, also from Japan.
“Unfortunately I’ve lost some of my matches today, but I’ll do my best in my remaining matches. Doubles is an important event for me and the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, so I need to increase my time on court to practice with my partner and improve my singles game,” said Ikumi Fuke.
It was a good day for Kim Seung Suk (featured image, right) as she entered the final of the Mixed Doubles WH 1 – WH 2 too, along with Kim Jungjun . The two Kims upset top seeds Osamu Nagashima/Yuma Yamazaki 14-21 21-16 21-15 and will take on second seeds Hiroshi Murayama/Rie Ogura in the final.
However, Kim Seung Suk wasn’t as lucky in Women’s Doubles, as she and Kim Dae Young could only finish third behind Sarina Satomi/Yuma Yamazaki and Ikumi Fuke/Rie Ogura. Her partner Kim Jungjun however entered three finals – besides the Mixed Doubles, he will feature in the Men’s Singles WH 2 and Men’s Doubles WH 1 – WH 2 final with Choi Jung Man.
Another player in sight of a three-title haul is Indonesia’s Leani Ratri Oktila.
Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan coasted to a 21-15 21-8 win over Chinese Taipei’s Yeh En-Chuan in the Men’s Singles Standing Lower (SL 4) semi-finals. He takes on top seed Sukant Kadam (India), who also had it easy against compatriot Anand Kumar Boregowda, 21-10 21-14.
Among the big upsets on the day was that of Men’s Singles Standing Upper SU 5 second seed Bartlomiej Mroz (Poland) at the hands of third seed Taiyo Imai (Japan). Imai beat Mroz 21-15 21-9 and will face top seed Suryo Nugroho (Indonesia), who came through his semifinal against Singapore’s Tay Wei Ming in three tough games.
The closest match of the day was in Men’s Singles Wheelchair WH 1, where Japan’s Hiroshi Murayama beat top seed Thomas Wandschneider (Germany) 10-21 21-19 22-20. Murayama faces Korea’s Choi Jung Man, who beat Osamu Nagashima 21-11 21-7.
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