National Para-Badminton C'ship witnessed 'world class' performances, says Deepa Malik

Deepa Malik, the President of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) feels the ongoing fourth National Para-Badminton Championship here in Bhubaneswar has further increased a lot of competition among the shuttlers ahead of Paris Games in 2024.

National Para-Badminton Championship is currently being held here at the Railway Indoor Stadium in Bhubneshwar. Tokyo Paralympics champion Krishna Nagar won the gold medal in the SH6 category on Saturday.

The tournament has seen a lot of new players rising to the occasion which in turn has made the competition stiffer among the para-shuttlers.

Indian para-badminton contingent had won four medals in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and Deepa Malik is confident that the tally will definitely increase in the Paris Games.

"Definitely there will be a lot of medals, as you can see medallist from Tokyo sweating it out here. It wasn't a cakewalk for them, they were winning as definitely they had a better game but a tough fight was coming up," Deepa Malik toldon the sidelines of the National Para-Badminton Championship.

"So if the same people are training for the next two years, I definitely see a lot of competition within the country as the National Championship has witnessed World-Class badminton here in the stadium," she added.

The Indian contingent had finished their campaign at the Tokyo Paralympic Games 2020 at an all-time high by securing a total of 19 medals which include 5 gold, 8 silver, and 6 bronze medals.

The PCI chief is happy to witness the progress the para-sports is making in the country following the Tokyo Games' glory.

"Tokyo Paralympics has brought a lot of attention for people with disability towards sports. They have felt very respected and honoured, especially when Honourable Prime Minister applauded every medal winner," said Deepa Malik.

"And suddenly after badminton became a Paralympic event, the popularity has grown. This particular national under the aegis of PCI and Pramod Bhagat, who has taken the initiative, has also helped in popularising the sport. This speaks highly of the progress the para-sports in making now," she added.

As a PCI chief, Deepa Malik is excited to face the challenging times she might encounter in the coming months with the increased participation and interest of athletes in para-sports.

"We have always dominated in para-badminton even when badminton wasn't a part of Paralympics. We were already there and now because of the Paralympics adding the event it has come under government policies," she said.

"As a PCI president this a lot of challenging times for me because of the participants here. I am also excited to see the unprecedented participation in Para-Athteltics' in February 2022," Deepa Malik signed off.Meanwhile, World No 1 SL3 Para-Badminton player Parul Parmar from Gujarat clinched the gold medal in the tournament on Saturday.

Parul defeated Mandeep Kaur from Uttarakhand 19-21, 21-17 21-10, even after facing a defeat in the first round. Mandeep Kaur settled with Silver, while Mansi Joshi secured Bronze in the category.

In the Women SU5 category, Manisha from Tamil Nadu secured gold while Arti ended up with silver. Jyoti and Vaishali ended with the bronze medal. In the Women SL4 category, Jyoti from Haryana secured gold while Chiranjita secured silver and Kanak had to settle for bronze.

Pramod Bhagat, Manoj Sarkar, Sukant Kadam, and other shuttlers will be in action later in the day for the top spot.

( With inputs from ANI )