Manoj Sarkar wins gold at Turkish Para-badminton International Championship

Indian para-shuttlers had a commendable display at the 4th Turkish Para-badminton International Championship 2018 that concluded at Konya, Turkey on Sunday with Manoj Sarkar winning a gold medal and Lalinakere Yathiraj Suhas capturing a silver medal. The top seeded Sarkar had to work hard to secure a 21-17, 17-21, 21-17 win over the second seeded Daisuke Fujihara of Japan in 52 minutes in the men’s singles SL3 event.

In the men’s singles SL4 category final, the 3/4th seeded Suhas was not so fortunate and went down fighting 10-21, 19-21 to the top seeded Lucas Mazur in 34 minutes.

Sarkar, who is the World No. 1 in men’s singles SL3, remained untroubled until the final, where he dropped a game for the first time this week.

With consistent performances, Sarkar has proved himself to be one of the best para-shuttlers India has ever produced. He has two gold medals from the World Championships to his credit, besides triumphing at the Asian Championships and the Asian Para Games as well.

Suhas too did not concede a game before succumbing to a defeat in the MS SL4 summit clash. He upstaged second seed and title favourite Sukant Kadam 21-10, 21-18 on his way to the final.

After defeating the odds from an early age, @manojshuttler on to earn success across the globe with his supreme talent. Suhas L Y, who is also an IAS Officer, left a lasting impression with his brilliant performances over the years. #ParaChampion pic.twitter.com/uk1ji7Dqfb
— GoSports Foundation (@GoSportsVoices) May 13, 2018

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Indians fail to reach final in Slovenia

Meanwhile, none of the Indians managed to reach the final at the Slovenia International 2018 -- an International Series tournament held in Medvode, Slovenia this week. The women’s doubles pair of Mahima Aggarwal and Arathi Sara Sunil were the best performing Indians and their run came to an end in the quarter-finals.

The Indians surrendered 16-21, 19-21 to the German combine of Eva Janssens and Stine Susan Kuspert in 31 minutes.

World No. 389 Kushal Dharmamer showed a lot of character in notching up four wins at this tournament in men’s singles, three of which were in qualifying. He even upset the fourth seed Luis Enrique Penalver in the first round of the main draw before going down to Dmytro Zavadsky in three games in the next round.