Malaysia’s Muhammad Fareez Anuar delivered a jolt to the ambitions of Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Dheva Anrimusthi, beating the Indonesian in a tight group match to lead the standings in Standing Upper (SU5) Group B.

The win – only his second in six matches against the Paralympic and World Championships silver medallist – was a morale-boosting one for the Malaysian in his first Paralympics.

However, with both players having to play one more match in the four-man group, Anrimusthi still has a shot at progressing from the group into the semifinals.

“It’s a great opportunity as it’s my first time at the Paralympics,” said Anuar. “This was a must-win match for me. My opponent was silver medalist at Tokyo 2020, so this win is very meaningful. Today I had to stay strong mentally. This will make me more confident when I go for my last group match.”

Anrimusthi, runner-up at the World Championships earlier this year and finalist at the Bahrain International, was philosophical in defeat and gave credit to Anuar.

“We’ve played each other often and it was a balanced contest,” said the Indonesian. “I did my best, but it wasn’t my day. I beat him in Bahrain, but he beat me before that, so these things happen. I feel he’s playing so much better now.”

Other Highlights

» WH2 home hope Thomas Jakobs had the crowd in a tizzy when he stole the first game after saving five game points against Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Kim Jung Jun, but the Korean great outlasted him 22-24 21-8 21-8.

» Another French hope, Maud Lefort, played a great first game against defending champion Yang Qiuxia in women’s singles SU5, but the Chinese stormed back to win 9-21 21-4 21-12.

» In a reversal of the Tokyo 2020 women’s doubles WH1-WH2 final, Liu Yu Tong/Yin Menglu beat Sarina Satomi/Yuma Yamazaki 21-14 21-14.

» In a must-win Group C match of men’s singles SH6, Great Britain’s Jack Shephard held off Brazil’s Vitor Tavares in a see-saw match, 21-19 15-21 21-19.

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