Indian shuttler Mandeep Kaur has secured her spot in the quarterfinals of the women's singles SL 3 category at the Paris Paralympics. Despite an initial setback, where she lost to Nigeria's Bolaji Mariam in her first match, Mandeep made a strong comeback, defeating Australia's Vinot Celine Aurelie. Her decisive win with scores of 21-23, 21-10, and 21-17 ensured her progression in the tournament.
Mandeep finished second in her group, which consisted of three players. Mariam topped the group and advanced directly to the semifinals. The structure of the competition allows the winners of groups A and C to advance straight to the semifinals, while the top two from group B, along with the second-place finishers from groups A and C, face off in the quarterfinals for the remaining semifinal spots.
The SL3 classification includes players with significant lower limb disabilities who compete on a half-width court.
In other matches on Friday, Indian pair Suhas Yathiraj and Palak Kohli lost their opening mixed doubles SL3 match to a top-seeded Indonesian duo. Another Indian mixed doubles team, Nitesh Kumar and Thulasimathi Murugesan, narrowly lost their contest against a French team.
India's sole mixed doubles victory came from Nithya Sivan Sumathy and Sivarajan Solaimalai, who defeated a team from Thailand with scores of 21-7 and 21-17.
Saturday's matches will see more Indian athletes, including Nitesh Kumar, Krishna Nagar, Manoj Sarkar, Sukant Kadam, Sivarajan Solaimalai, and Tarun, competing in various men's singles categories. In the women's singles, Manisha Ramdass and Nithya Sivan Sumathy will also continue their challenge.
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