At the age of 22, Daiki Kajiwara (Japan) chalked up his 100th consecutive win in the men’s singles Wheelchair (WH2) after defeating Takumi Matsumoto (Japan) 21-19 21-4 in the semifinal of the 5th Fazza Dubai Para Badminton International 2023.
“I don’t think about winning until I’m in the match. And I don’t go to tournaments thinking that I will win,” said Kajiwara who has not lost a single match he’s played since he was crowned Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champion.
Kajiwara’s strategy is simple – he does exactly what his coach of three years, Sotaro Zama, tells him to do during practice and competition.
Changing of the Guards?
“Daiki is able to read his opponents well and very quickly,” said Chan Ho Yuen (Hong Kong China) who took out Korea’s Kim Jungjun, 21-7 21-16, to set up the final against Kajiwara.
After a rather shaky start to the year, Chan is considering hanging up his racket.
“I’m thinking of retiring after the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Age is catching up and I’m not feeling in top form. I find myself changing from an attacking into a more defensive and controlled game.
“And, there are all these young ones in the mix. At one time it was only Kim and me, then Daiki came along. Now we have Yu Sooyoung (Korea), and more. I can’t keep up.”
Kim, on the other hand, while praising Kajiwara, added: “It’s great to see many talented players emerging but I plan to keep playing until LA2028.”
Hangzhou Gold Makes Up for Hard Year
Winners of the men’s doubles Standing Lower (SL3-SL4) gold medal in the Hangzhou Asian Games this year, India’s Tarun and Nitesh Kumar fell to Korean pair Shin Kyung Hwan and Joo Dongjae, 15-21 21-17 17-21.
“We made so many mistakes. We couldn’t convert their rallies to attack and kept on the defensive. The service return made a difference too. We just couldn’t find a way out of it all,” said Kumar, after the semifinal.
Tarun added: “It’s been a hard year of back-to-back tournaments. It’s exhausting but I am satisfied overall because of the Asian Games. At least we’ll have some time from now until the world championships (February 2024) to reset.”
SL3, SL4 Go Long
“That was a phenomenal match. Nitesh played really well. I just managed to get back from being down in the second. It was only two games but it went for almost an hour,” said Bethell, after taking 58 minutes to beat Nitesh, 21-19, 21-17, in the men’s singles SL3 semifinal.
Bethell who’s been at the top of his game this year, having only lost one tournament, is looking fitter and stronger on court but believes there’s more to be done.
“The SL3 matches just go on and on. In Canada, I played Daisuke (Fujihara) for one hour and 57 minutes. He’s a very fit athlete and getting stronger. Everyone is, so for me to be at their level I need to keep up.”
Bethell faces India’s Pramod Bhagat in the final tomorrow.
Malaysia’s Mohd. Amin Burhanuddin prevented an all-India final in the men’s singles SL4 when he beat Tarun, 21-17 17-21 22-20, but will now face Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj (India).
“Suhas is a highly experienced player and even his disability is not a weakness. Whatever shots you give him, he’s got great control of the shuttle and sometimes I feel like he’s playing a psychological game. My only chance may be to bring him to the net,” said Burhanuddin, who is currently seventh in the world and sixth in the Race to Paris rankings.