The highly anticipated draw for the 16 events in Para badminton was held today at Porte de la Chapelle Arena for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

SL4 men’s singles efending champion and home favourite Lucas Mazur faces a tough challenge in Group D, where he competes against Tarun Tarun and Rogerio Junior Xavier De Oliveira next week. While Mazur holds a strong 10-1 lead in head-to-head encounters with Tarun, having faced him in two World Championship finals, their history suggests no room for complacency. Despite winning their last seven meetings in a row, Mazur will need to be at his best to advance to the knockout stages.

Paralympic silver medallist and 2024 world champion, Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj will also need to bring his A-game to Group D as he battles to fend off challenges from Hikmat Ramdani and Shin Kying Hwan. Just one from each group can progress to the next stage.

The SU5 women’s singles is set to be a crowd-pleaser with Group C earning the reputation as the ‘ultimate group of death’. Manisha Ramadass, Maud Lefort and Yang Qiuxia will battle for the top spot. Ramadass, the 2022 BWF Female Para Badminton Player of the Year, has already claimed two titles in 2024 and aims to further enhance her impressive reputation.

European champion Lefort will need to set aside her close friendship with Ramadass if she wants to claim the crown. Meanwhile, defending Paralympic medallist Yang is determined to add another gold to her collection. Despite competing in one tournament this year, Yang claimed the women’s singles title at the Para Badminton World Championships 2024 in Pattaya, reached the semifinals in women’s doubles, and made it to the quarters in mixed doubles. Her opponents should be wary of her precise and delicate strokeplay.

In the wheelchair men’s doubles (WH1-WH2) event, Group B is shaping up to be one of the toughest to escape from. The highly competitive group sees defending Paralympic champions Qu Zi Mo/Mai Jian Peng, top seeds Choi Jung Man/Kim Jung Jun, 2022 world champions Thomas Wandschneider/Rick Cornell Hellman, and the formidable duo of Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli and Noor Azwan Noorlan face-off. With only the top two advancing, this group promises intense and thrilling matches, making it one to watch closely.

Para badminton begins at Porte de la Chapelle on 29 August and concludes on 2 September.

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