India’s Pramod Bhagat was one of four double titlists at the Brazil Para Badminton International 2020 that concluded on Saturday in Sao Paolo.
Bhagat beat his compatriot Manoj Sarkar in the men’s singles Standing Lower (SL3) final in the closest match of the day, 22-20 23-21, before teaming up with Sarkar for the men’s doubles (SL3-4). The Indian duo beat China’s Chen Xiaoyu/Gao Yuyang 21-11 21-7.
Peru’s Carmen Giuliana Poveda Flores, double titlist in the SH6. Image: Giuliana Poveda
China’s wheelchair star Liu Yutong also claimed a double. The top seed held off compatriot Xu Tingting in the Wheelchair (WH2) final, 21-16 21-15, and then teamed up with Yin Menglu for the women’s doubles (WH1-2). The Chinese pair were too strong for second seeds Emine Seckin (Turkey) and Man-Kei To (Belgium), 21-13 21-11.
World champion in the Short Stature (SH6) category, Peru’s Carmen Giuliana Poveda Flores, breezed through all her four league matches in singles without dropping a game to win the gold.
She repeated the feat in mixed doubles SH6 as well with partner Nagar Krishna (India); the pair finished ahead of Yi-Ying Chen (Chinese Taipei) and Nina Kozlova (Ukraine) and Hector Jesus Salva Tunque/Rubi Milagros Fernandez Vargas (Peru).
Korean wheelchair ace Kim Jungjun continued to reign in his category, beating Israel’s Amir Levi 21-17 18-21 21-10, but there was a surprise in store for Leani Ratri Oktila, top seed in the women’s singles SL4 category. Oktila was beaten in a 40-minute contest by China’s Cheng Hefang, 21-16 16-21 21-14.
Leani Ratri Oktila with her two gold medals and a silver. Image: Leani Ratri Oktila
However, she got a measure of revenge in the women’s doubles SL3 – SU5 final, as she and Khalimatus Sadiyah Sukohandoko prevailed over Cheng Hefang and Ma Huihui, 21-15 21-19.
Earlier, Oktila had captured the mixed doubles gold (SL3 – SU5) with Hary Susanto; the Indonesian pair getting the better of France’s Lucas Mazur/Faustine Noel 21-16 21-9.
World champion in the SH6 category, England’s Jack Shephard, fell in a thrilling semifinal to Brazil’s Vitor Goncalves Tavares, 21-15 18-21 26-24. Tavares went on to win the final, 21-18 21-19, over India’s Nagar Krishna.
There was a surprise in the women’s singles SL3, with India’s Parul Parmar falling to Turkey’s Halime Yildiz 21-9 21-14.
China emerged the most successful team with 8 gold medals.
BWF Newsletter
