Nagoya, Oct 19 The Indian combination of Nitesh Kumar and Thulasimathi Murugesan was assured of a medal in the Asian Para Games mixed doubles badminton competition after topping SL3-SU5 Group B with an unbeaten run to enter the semifinals, here on Monday.
The Indian pair got a walkover from China’s Yang Jianyuan and Yang Qiuxia in its first match.
They then defeated China’s Chen Pengfei and Huang Zixuan 21-4, 21-18 in just 23 minutes at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium to finish atop the group standings.
Paris Paralympics champion Nitesh also registered a comfortable victory in the men’s singles SL3 event, beating South Korea’s Joo Dongjae 21-13, 21-15 in Group A.
Ruthick Ragupathi added to India’s winning run with a 21-12, 21-12 victory over Thailand’s Somsiri Pricha in the men’s singles SU5 Group C match.
In para-badminton, SL3 is for players with significant lower-limb impairment who compete on half a court, while SU5 is for players with upper-limb impairment.
In mixed doubles SL3-SU5 pairs combine athletes from these two classifications.
(PTI News)
