In 2020, Para-Badminton will be included in the Paralympic Games for the first time. Ahead of the qualification period, which begins in 2019, over one hundred athletes from across the globe travelled to Geelong to compete in one of the last Para-Badminton tournaments of the year.
Over four days of competition, the Lesiuretime Centre has played host to almost three hundred matches across eighteen different disciplines of Para-Badminton. With three days of preliminary rounds, quarter-finals and semi-finals, the finals took place today, on Sunday 25 November 2018.
From 10am this morning, the athletes have been playing for the top spot on the podium. Leani Ratri Oktila, the reigning World Champion in the Mixed Doubles SL 3 – SU 5 classification (see notes below for classification details), opened the finals day along with her partner Dwiyoko Dwiyoko. The Indonesian pair won their match against the French duo Guillaume Gailly and Veronique Braud.
“I’m very happy with this result ahead of the upcoming qualification period for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.” – Leani Ratri Oktila.
Japan arrived at the tournament in mass with a team of over 25 players. They are celebrating success in the Women’s Singles Wheelchair 1 event and Women’s Singles SL 4 – SU 5, by Sarina Satomi and Ayoko Suzuki respectively.
One of the biggest matches of the day came in the fiercely contended Men’s Doubles match in the Standing Lower 3 – 4 classification. Dwiyoko Dwiyoko and Fredy Setiawan, first seeds from Indonesia, went the distance against the Indian duo Pramod Bhagat and Sukant Kadam. Over fifty-five incredible minutes of intense, fast action, the Indonesian pair came out on top in a rare three-game thriller where every game went to extention: 25-23 22-24 22-20.
However, Bhagat of India managed to secure his place on top of a podium in the Men’s Singles SL3 event where he was seeded first. The Indian took Ukun Rukaendi from Indonesia in the final which finished in two close games 21-16 21-18.
“I am so happy. With this match that I’ve won I now become world number one.” – Pramod Bhagat.
The second seeds in the Men’s Singles WH2 and Women’s Singles WH1 events went above and beyond their seeding to take the title in their respective classifications. Ho Yuen Chan of Korea defeated the first seed from Korea, Junjun Kim in three spectacular games 21-14 18-21 21-13. Meanwhile, Sarina Satomi of Japan comfortably settled her final appearance with a two-game win over Korean Seung Suk Kim; she won the match 21-11 21-7.
Australia’s own Luke Missen took home a bronze medal in the Men’s Doubles SS6 competition, partnering with Englishman Jonathan Pratt for the first time. In the round robin format, they finished in third place behind Man Kai Chu and Chun Yim Wong of Hong Kong (Gold) and Yohei Hatakeyama and Miles Krajewski of Japan/USA (Silver).
“I think we did quite well considering it’s the first time we played with each other…over the week we were building and got better as a pair” – Luke Missen.
While the Australia Para-Badminton International is the last leg of the 2018 calendar for the BWF-sanctioned para events, the action in Geelong does not stop yet. The Victor Oceania Para-Badminton Championships take place at Leisuretime Centre in Geelong from Monday 26 – Tuesday 27 November 2018 where only Oceania-affiliated players will be competing.
You can view the full draw and results on Tournament Software. The winners and results from today’s event are as follows:
| Classification | Winner | Runner-Up |
| Men’s singles Standing Lower 3 |
PRAMOD BHAGAT INDIA |
UKUN RUKAENDI INDONESIA |
| Men’s singles Standing Lower 4 |
FREDY SETIAWAN INDONSEIA |
SUKANT KADAM INDIA |
| Men’s singles Standing Upper 5 |
SURYO NUGHORO INDONESIA |
TAIYO IMAI JAPAN |
| Men’s singles Wheelchair 1 |
JUNG MAN CHOI KOREA |
HIROSHI MURAYAMA JAPAN |
| Men’s singles Wheelchair 2 |
HO YUEN CHAN HONG KONG CHINA |
JUNGJUN KIM KOREA |
| Women’s singles Standing Lower 3 |
MANASI GIRISHCHANDRA JOSHI INDIA |
NORIKO ITO JAPAN |
| Women’s singles Standing Lower 4 |
LEANI RATRI OKTILA INDONESIA
|
KHALIMATUS SADIYAH SUKOHANDOKO INDONESIA |
| Women’s singles Standing Lower 4 + Standing Upper 5 |
AYOKO SUZUKI JAPAN |
LEANI RATRI OKTILA INDONESIA |
| Women’s singles Wheelchair 1 |
SARINA SATOMI JAPAN |
SEUNG SUK KIM KOREA |
| Women’s singles Wheelchair 2 |
YUMA YAMAZAKI JAPAN |
RIE OGURA JAPAN |
| Singles Short Stature 6 |
CHUN YIM WONG HONG KONG CHINA |
MAN KAI CHU HONG KONG CHINA |
| Men’s Doubles Standing Lower 3– Standing Lower 4 |
DWIYOKO DWIYOKO/ FREDY SETIAWAN INDONESIA |
PRAMOD BHAGAT/ SUKANT KADAM INDIA |
| Men’s Doubles Standing Upper 5 |
GEN SHOGAKI/ TETSUO URA JAPAN |
TAIYO IMAI/ HIRONOBU KAWABATA JAPAN |
| Men’s Doubles Wheelchair 1 – 2 |
JUNG MAN CHOI / JUNGJUN KIM KOREA
|
AMIR LEVI/ DAVID TOUPE ISRAEL/FRANCE |
| Women’s Doubles Standing Lower 3 – Standing Upper 5 |
LEANI RATRI OKTILA/ KHALIMATUS SADIYAH SUKOHANDOKO INDONESIA |
NORIKO ITO/ AYAKO SUZUKI JAPAN |
| Women’s Doubles Wheelchair 1 – 2 |
SARINA SATOMI/ YUMA YAMAZAKE JAPAN |
IKUMI FUKE/ RIE OGURA JAPAN |
| Mixed Doubles Standing Lower 3 – Standing Upper 5 |
DWIYOKO DWIYOKO/ LEANI RATRI OKTILA INDONESIA |
GUILLAUMA GAILLY/ VERONIQUE BRAUD FRANCE |
| Mixed Doubles Wheelchair 1 – 2 |
JUNGJUN KIM/ SEUNG SUK KIM KOREA |
HIROSHI MURAYAMA/ RIE OGURA JAPAN |
| Men’s/Mixed Doubles Short Stature 6 |
MAN KAI CHU/ CHUN YIM WONG HONG KONG CHINA |
YOHEI HATAKEYAMA/ MILES KRAJEWSKI JAPAN/USA |
