Turkish SL4 player Tugce Celik won the first title of her five-year career at the Spanish Para Badminton International 2024 II in Vitoria on Sunday.
Alongside SL3-SU5 women’s doubles partner from India, Palak Kohli, Celik defeated another transnational pair in Portuguese Beatriz Monteiro and Frenchwoman Catherine Naudin 21-19 21-16 in the final.
Prior to this, Celik only had two runner-up finishes to her name – in SL4 women’s singles at Bahrain Para Badminton International 2022 and in SL3-SU5 women’s doubles at Indonesia Para Badminton International 2023 – after becoming part of the global Para badminton community in 2019.
Meanwhile, Korean Jeong Jaegun ended his two-year title drought when he defeated German Thomas Wandschneider 21-17 23-25 22-20 in a 105-minute marathon WH1 men’s singles final.
Jeong’s last success came at the Canada Para Badminton International in June 2022.
Three players left with two gold medals – Indian Nitesh Kumar (SL3 men’s singles, SL3-SU5 mixed doubles with Thulasimathi Murugesan), Malaysian Cheah Liek Hou (SU5 men’s singles and doubles) and Japan’s Paralympic champion Sarina Satomi (WH1 women’s singles, WH1-WH2 women’s doubles with Yuma Yamazaki).
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