NEW DELHI: A total of 13 Indian para-shuttlers, including the reigning champion Krishna Nagar, have secured qualification for the upcoming Paris Paralympics, as confirmed by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Representing India, they will participate in nine different events during the badminton competition scheduled at the Paris Olympics from August 28 to September 8.
Nagar aims to defend his men's singles SH6 category gold, which he clinched during the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021. Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj and Manoj Sarkar, who won silver and bronze respectively in Tokyo, will also strive for further success in the men's singles SL4 and SL3 categories.
In total, 120 para badminton athletes, comprising 60 men and 60 women from 31 National Paralympic Committees, have qualified for the Paris Paralympic Games. They will compete across 16 events, including 12 singles and four doubles disciplines, as announced by the BWF.
The Paris Paralympics will introduce three new events: Women's Singles Standing Lower 3 (WS SL3), Women's Singles Short Stature 6 (WS SH6), and Mixed Doubles Short Stature 6 (XD SH6).
Additionally, athletes from Austria, Belgium, Chile, Italy, New Zealand, Nigeria, and the USA will mark their debut in Paralympic badminton.
The para badminton competition is scheduled to take place from August 29 to September 2 at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena.
Indian shuttlers who have qualified for Paris Olympics:
Men's singles SH6: Krishna Nagar; Sivarajan Solaimalai
Men's singles SL3: Kumar Nitesh; Manoj Sarkar
Women's singles SL3: Manasi Girishchandra Joshi; Mandeep Kaur
Men's singles SL4: Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj; Sukant Kadam; Tarun
Women's singles SL4: Palak Kohli
Women's singles SU5:Thulasimathi Murugesan; Manisha Ramadass
Women's singles SH6: Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan
Mixed Doubles SL3-SU5: Kumar Nitesh and Thulasimathi Murugesan; Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj and Palak Kohli
Mixed Doubles SH6: Sivarajan Solaimalai and Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan.
(With PTI inputs)
