NEW DELHI: Tokyo Games silver medallist Suhas Yathiraj and Nitesh Kumar advanced to the men's singles SL4 and SL3 semifinals, respectively, at the
Paris Paralympics
on Friday. Meanwhile,
Murugesan Thulasimathi
also secured her spot in the women's singles SU5 semifinals.
Suhas, a 2007 batch IAS officer, triumphed over Korea's Shin Kyung Hwan with scores of 26-24, 21-14 in his second match, leading Group A in the SL4 category, PTI reported.
Nitesh, an IIT Mandi graduate, displayed dominance in his match against China's Yang Jianyuan, winning 21-5, 21-11, and ensuring a top-two finish in Group A of the SL3 category.
Nitesh, who suffered permanent leg damage due to an accident in 2009, will compete against Thailand's Bunsun Mongkhon in his final Group A match.
In the SL4 class, group toppers advance to the last four, while in SL3, the top two players from each group qualify for the semifinals.
Murugesan Thulasimathi excelled in her last group match, defeating Beatriz Monteiro of Portugal 21-12, 21-8, and topping Group A to reach the women's singles SU5 semifinals.
"The match was quite good, but not so easy one. I have qualified for the semifinals. I hope to do my best," Thulasimathi said.
However, Manasi Joshi and Manoj Sarkar faced setbacks. Manasi, the 2019 World Champion, lost narrowly to Ukraine's Oksana Kozyna 21-10, 15-21, 21-23 in her second SL3 Group A match. She had also lost her opening match to Indonesia's Qonitah Ikhtiar Syakuroh on Thursday.
Manoj, a Tokyo bronze medallist, was defeated 19-21, 8-21 by Bunsun in his second Group A match, following an earlier loss to compatriot Nitesh on Thursday. He will next compete against Yang on Friday.
The SL4 class caters to athletes with lower limb impairments and minor balance issues in walking or running, while SL3 is for players with more severe lower limb disabilities, requiring play on a half-width court.
In the women's SL5 singles, Thulasimathi needed just 26 minutes to beat her Portuguese opponent in straight games.
The group toppers in A and C directly advance to the semifinals, while the top two in Group B and the second-place finishers in Groups A and C move to a knockout round for the remaining semifinal spots. Athletes in the SU5 class have upper limb impairments.
On Thursday night, Nitesh and Thulasimathi faced a tough match in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 group stage, losing to Indonesia's Ramdani Hikmat and Oktila Leani Ratri with scores of 15-21, 8-21.
Suhas Yathiraj and Palak Kohli also experienced a defeat in their second Group A mixed doubles match against France's Lucas Mazur and Faustine Noel, losing 15-21, 9-21.
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