India win 10 medals at Denmark Para Badminton International tournament 2019

Indian para badminton players did well at the Denmark Para Badminton International Tournament 2019 winning 10 medals. India won gold medals in both the men’s and women’s singles finals.

Three-time World Champion Parul Parmar is in dazzling form and she showed it in the finals of the BWF Denmark Para Badminton International Tournament 2019. 46-year-old Parul, India’s oldest para badminton player, won a gold medal in the Women’s Singles SL3 category, cementing her reputation as a formidable player.

Indian para badminton Head Coach Gaurav Khanna had high praise for Parul’s performance. “Gold for Parul is really good news. While it is unfortunate that SL3 is not a part of the Paralympics, the good thing is that she is in good form and has been winning for many years, so it is satisfying to see her with a gold medal”.

Uttarakhand player Manoj Sarkar continues to be in good form. Manoj, who has been battling some issues, has done well this year winning gold medals in both Thailand and China. At Denmark too, he put up a sterling performance and won gold in the Men’s Singles SL3 category.

I played my natural game in Denmark and that went well for me. I put my injuries and other issues aside to focus on my game and the results are there for all to see. I am grateful to my coach for the faith he has shown in me throughout my problems and I have been able to live up to that faith. – Manoj Sarkar, Indian Para Badminton champ

This was how the total medals tally for India looked – Two gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze.

• WS SL3: Parul Parmar – Gold.
• MS SL3: Manoj Sarkar – Gold/Pramod Bhagat-Bronze.
• MS SL4: Sukant Kadam – Bronze.

MS SS6: Krishna – Silver/Suhas Y: Bronze.

• MD SL3-SL4: Umesh Vikram/Suhas – Silver/ Pramod/ Manoj – Bronze.
• MD SU5: Rajumar Chirag – Silver.

The wins, says Coach Khanna, are significant and not just for the game points. “The results are a morale booster for future events and we are showing the world that India is going to make a difference in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics”.

There are some players that still need to work on their game like Sukant Kadam and this is likely to be the main focus. “There are some constraints that we have to cross, like Sukant was leading against France’s Lucas
Mazur but lost in the last game”. Khanna is confident that the players are close to overcoming the final barrier. “We worked on a few strategies after China and those paid off with Suhas. We are going to develop those further and we have the time for that”.

Up next is the Japan tournament which starts on 13 November. The para badminton players plan to get here early so they get used to the weather and more importantly the venue, as this is also where a Paralympics event will be held. There will be a week long camp under the India-Japan Joint Training Coaching Programme.

“This is a segment that we have started especially for Indian Para Badminton”, explains Khanna. “We will get a chance to train with elite Japanese players and I will be coaching their players. It’s a chance for us to learn the technologies the Japanese are adopting and we will have a few training sessions and plan for future events”.

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