31 August, 2024
Krysten Coombs found his best badminton to clinch a place in the quarter-finals of the men’s singles SH6 with a statement win over Sivarajan Solaimalai.
After winning bronze in this event in Tokyo three years ago, Coombs is into the last eight once again as he looks to return to the podium.
And he got there by getting the better of Solaimalai 21-12, 21-10 in a match where the crowd made their voice heard at La Chapelle Arena.
With two wins from his three group games, Coombs secured second place in his group to qualify and he believes he is playing his best badminton at just the right time.
Coombs said: “Today that was a great example of the badminton I feel I can play at the moment and the confidence I’ve got so bring on the quarter-finals now.
“The crowd is amazing. We didn’t have it in Tokyo, we don’t have it in any other para tournaments. To have the atmosphere like that is just incredible. It brings another level to your game.
“[Solaimalai] was loving it as well and he got them going halfway through and then I got them going, it was just brilliant.”
While Coombs went through, fellow SH6 shuttler Jack Shephard missed out after he lost to home favourite Charles Noakes.
The Frenchman had won his two previous group games, with Shephard needing to end that run to reach the last eight. But he was beaten 21-17, 21-17 and finishes fourth in his group.
Shephard said: “I want to start by saying a massive thank you to all of the love and support that has been out there this week. Without that I wouldn’t be where I am today.
“Having the opportunity to play a French player at their home Games was absolutely amazing. We all know in Europe the French crowd can be brilliant and they put on a show for us. To be able to play in front of them it was absolutely brilliant to be able to be out there.
“It’s not the result I wanted. Hats off to Charles he played a good game. I felt like I tried to throw absolutely everything at him that I could, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough.”
✅3 for 3 victories in the group stage 🔥
Bring on the semi-finals! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
📸 @badmintonphoto #Paris2024 @ParalympicsGB pic.twitter.com/kypwEx5hf4
— Badminton England (@BadmintonEnglnd) August 31, 2024
Meanwhile, Dan Bethell is not getting complacent after he sealed his spot in the semi-finals of the men’s SL3 singles.
The 28-year-old is currently undefeated in Paris, having won all three of his group matches and is now just one win away from a second Paralympic medal.
The Brit won ParalympicsGB’s first-ever badminton medal with silver in Tokyo and stormed through his last group game in Paris with a clinical 21-5 21-5 victory over Oleksandr Chyrkov from Ukraine to put himself in contention for more history.
And Bethell is not quiet in expressing his desire for gold in the French capital, believing that he is playing the best badminton he ever has.
He said: “It’s just an honour to be at the Paralympics so to get to the semi-finals and to be within a shot of a medal again is fantastic.
“But I can’t get complacent here, the job is not to just get to the semi-final I want that gold medal so it’s all about going back, sticking to my plans and recovering now.
“I feel like I’m playing some of the best badminton of my career and getting there at the right time.
“I’m loving it more than anything, playing in front of the crowd is amazing and it’s a privilege to be out there and doing that.”
Bethell, who is the current world number two, has been undefeated for the majority of the past year, only falling in his world championship final against the man who also beat him to gold at Tokyo 2020, India’s Pramod Bhagat.
But with Pramod not contending at Paris and with three emphatic victories to his name at La Chapelle Arena, yet to drop a set, Bethell will be hoping that this is the chance for him to finally clinch at long-awaited gold and make his Paralympic dreams come true.
“I feel really good, I just wanted to go out there in the last group game at getting going looking forward to the semi-finals,” he said.
“It’s the same as the other two matches, I wanted to be solid and stick to my game plan and I’m really happy with that result and to get through in the manner I did.”
Last but not least, Rachel Choong wrapped up top spot in the women’s singles SH6 group B. She came out on top against Poland’s Oliwia Szmigiel in an epic battle, triumphing 17-21, 21-10, 21-16.
On her Paralympic debut, Choong is now into the quarter-finals and was delighted to have bounced back from going out of the mixed doubles alongside Shephard.
She said: “I had a late match last night in the mixed doubles and I lost that which means that unfortunately Jack and I are out of the mixed doubles so to bounce back from that and put in a good performance, I’m really pleased with that. Hopefully I can carry this momentum into the quarter-finals.
“I have had some tricky matches with Oliwia before, she beat me at the Europeans about a year and a half ago. That hurt so I’m really pleased to get my second win against her since then. Once I found my momentum, I felt I was playing well so it’s great. There wasn’t much pressure because we both knew we would be progressing to the next round but I still felt nervous going into it. I’m glad I could settle and put in a good performance.”
