A lover of long rallies, Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara is exploring a different style of play at the 5^th Fazza Dubai Para Badminton International 2023.

“I’ve had some really good results this year and I feel like I’m getting to a level where I can match (Pramod) Bhagat (India) and (Daniel) Bethell (England),” said Fujihara who is now playing a combination of strokes that he believes will help him win while spending less time on court.

“One of my best matches was against Bethell in Canada in June. It went for two hours. I lost but I was so satisfied with my performance.”

In Dubai, Fujihara triumphed after 71 minutes against Manoj Sarkar (India) 17-21 21-14 21-17 in the Standing Lower (SL3) men’s singles quarterfinal. He faces off against Tokyo 2020 Paralympic and Hangzhou Asian Games champion Pramod Bhagat (India) in the semifinal tomorrow.

With the world championships and Paris 2024 to look forward to next year, Fujihara’s first order of business is to care for a hip injury which he sustained in Sheffield in August.

“I need to keep in good form and I’m still adjusting to this new style of play but I believe things will work out well for me.”

Time to Make up for Tokyo

England’s Jack Shepard is determined to avoid a repeat of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics where he failed to make it past the group stage.

“There’s a lot to learn from that and put into practice in tournaments and training. Not really a lot of changes to my game but just the way we go about it and focus when I’m out there,” said Shephard after he lost to Krysten Coombs (England) in the quarterfinals of the men’s singles Short Stature (SH6).

“It was a good game today that maybe came down to him keeping the shuttle in the court a bit longer than I did,” said Shephard.

Shephard has another shot at the podium in Dubai, in the SH6 mixed doubles with Rachel Choong (England).

Motivated by his singles and mixed doubles gold at the European Para Games in August, he added:  “It’s great for my badminton that I can play both (singles and doubles). There’s a lot of assets that suit both games and as a whole it makes me understand the game better.”

Shephard and Choong will take on China’s Zeng Qingtao and Lin Shuangbao in the SH6 mixed doubles semifinal on Saturday.

Surprises in SL3

“She surprised me. I saw her playing the others but it’s the first time I played her,” said India’s Manasi Girishchandra Joshi after her 11-21 13-21 loss to Mariam Eniola Bolaji (Nigeria) in the women’s singles SL3 quarterfinal.

Citing Bolaji’s speed as the Nigerian’s edge over most SL3 players, Joshi added: “She has the ability to cover the whole court whereas usually in my category our movements are different. She didn’t give me a chance to play my game.”

Things are looking up for Joshi in the women’s doubles SL3-SU5 with Thulasimathi Murugesan (India).

“She has also surprised everyone with her skills. We train together and it’s a new but comfortable partnership.”

Newbie in the House

Elisa Bujnowskyj only picked up a badminton racket a year ago and already she’s feeling at home with the French team.

“I’m usually a shy person who needs time to observe people before I make friends but with this team, I felt immediately comfortable from day one,” said Bujnowskyj.

Bujnowskyj partnered Dalya Seleman (Germany) in the women’s doubles SH6 and managed a third placing after losing to Ukraine’s Nina Kozlova and Anastasiia Zavalii, 21-4 21-11.

With only three pairs in this category, Ukraine is second while first place goes to Cai Yi-Lin and Wu Yu-Yen of Chinese Taipei.

Results