Iraq’s men’s doubles pair of Ashraf Hasan Shareef Alkhaddam and Ali Alasadi flew the flag for Arab players when they qualified for the quarterfinals of the BWF Level II a the 5th Fazza Dubai Para Badminton International 2023.
Seeded third, both Alkhaddam and Alasadi were proud and excited to advance to the men’s doubles SL3-SL4 quarterfinals after finishing second in men’s doubles SL3-AL4 Group C.
“Playing against the top players was a good learning experience. We need to train more and play more tournaments to develop their skills. I am happy that we could take part in these championships,” said Al Bedwawi.
Over 300 Para shuttlers from 41 nations are competing in the event at the Al Nasr Club with their sights set on Paris 2024 Paralympic qualification ranking points.
While the top names have comfortably reached the quarter-finals hosts UAE’s campaign ended on the day after Jamal Khalifa Al Bedwawi and Siham Al Rushaidi lost their mixed doubles WH1-WH2 Round 3 group game. They were beaten by Poland’s Anna Wolny and Chile’s Jaime Aranguiz 21-5, 21-4.
Al Rusaidi exited from her first international event after losing to China’s Paralympic champion Liu Yu Tong 21-5, 2-6.
Meanwhile, top names including multiple-time Paralympic champions Qu Zimo of China (MS WH1) and Japan’s Daiki Kajiwara (MS WH2) cruised into the quarter-finals.
In men’s singles SU 5 Round 1 matches, Indonesia’s Asian Para Games champion Dheva Anrimusthi however had to come back from a game down to beat India’s Chirag Baretha 19-21, 21-15, 21-5.
Cheah Liek Hou, a Paralympic champion from Malaysia, had it rather easy as he overcame Ruthick Ragupathi 21-12, 21-13. A title clash is expected between favourites Liek Hou and Anrimusthi with both placed in different halves of the draw.
In the women’s singles SL3-SU5 group game, top seeds Leani Ratri Oktila and Khalimatus Sadiyah had to survive a second-game scare against Turkey’s Tugce Celik and Palak Kohli of India before winning 21-11, 12-21, 21-10.
England’s top-seeded mixed doubles pairing of Jack Shephard and Rachel Choong ended their round-robin stage with a thrilling 22-20, 13-21, 21-11 win over Hong Kong’s Chu Man Kai and Choi Wing Kei in a SH6 group game.
Later, India’s new mixed doubles pair of Nitesh and Thulasimathi Murugesan got the better off Ilker Tuzcu and Halime Yildiz of Turkey 21-11, 21-19 in a mixed doubles SL3-SU5 last-16 match.
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Held under the patronage of Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Border Security Council, the Dubai 2023 International is the last Para-Badminton event of the season in the BWF calendar. It offers important qualification points towards the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
The 2024 Para-Badminton World Championships in Pattaya next February will be the final event before the qualification period ends on March 31, 2024.