Paris , Aug 29
Indian Para Taekwondo athlete Aruna Tanwar on Thursday suffered a defeat in her round of 16 match in K44-47 kg women’s category at the ongoing Paris Paralympics.Aruna suffered a defeat to Turkey’s Nurcihan Ekinci by 0-19. During the course of the match, she suffered an injury, but still decided to keep playing. However, her determination and courage could not take her to round two.”Result Update: Women #ParaTaekwondo K44-47 kg Round of 16 @ArunaTanwar1 suffers a shattering injury in her match but still gets up to fight back. She gives her best before losing to Turkey’s Nurcihan Ekinci with a 0-19 scoreline With this Aruna’s journey at the #ParisParalympics2024 comes to an end But what a spirit shown, champ! #Cheer4Bharat and keep supporting #TeamIndia at #Paris2024,” tweeted Sports Authority of India (SAI) Media. The Indian mixed doubles para-badminton campaign at the ongoing Paris Paralympics started with an all-India clash in which the pair of Nitesh Kumar and Thulasimathi Murugesan emerged victorious over the Suhas Yathiraj and Palak Kohli on Thursday.Nitesh and Thulasimathi defeated Suhas and Palak by 2-0, winning both games by 21-14, 21-17.India’s campaign in para-badminton competition at the ongoing Paris Olympics was off to a disappointing start as shuttlers Manasi Joshi and Mandeep Kaur registered losses in their women’s singles SL3 Group Stage first-round matches on Thursday.Manasi, placed in Group A, the World Championships 2019 gold medalist, squared off against Indonesia’s Qontiah Ikhitar Syakuroh. Despite the Indian taking the first game, Syakuroh bounced back in the next two sets to beat Manasi (21-16, 13-21, 18-21) in the first round.In the other women’s singles match, Group B’s Mandeep encountered a challenge from Nigeria’s Mariam Eniola Bolaji. Mandeep fell to Nigerian in two successive games by 8-21, and 14-21 to bow out of the competition.This year, India has sent its largest Paralympics contingent ever, comprising 84 athletes across 12 sports, a testament to the country’s expanding para-sports ecosystem. India’s participation in the Paris 2024 Paralympics marks not only a significant increase in numbers but also in medal hopes, as the nation aims to surpass its previous achievements in Tokyo.Tokyo 2020 was India’s most successful Paralympic Games, with the country winning 19 medals, including five golds, eight silver and six bronzes.
