Ukraine’s Oleksandr Chyrkov upset second seed Pascal Wolter to make the final of the VYV BWF European Para-Badminton Championships in the Men’s Singles Standing Lower (SL 3) category yesterday in Rodez, France.
Chyrkov (featured image), who beat ¾ seed Colin Leslie in an earlier match, proved too strong for Wolter as he cantered to a 21-11 21-14 victory. Chyrkov takes on top seed Daniel Bethell (England) in the final today.
In the Standing Lower (SL 4) category, top seed Lucas Mazur (France) and second seed Rickard Nilsson (Sweden) booked a final face-off. Mazur eased past Germany’s Tim Haller 21-11 21-5, while Nilsson was just as comfortable against Russia’s Oleg Dontsov, 21-16 21-11.
Norway’s Helle Sofie Sagoy and France’s Faustine Noel will clash for the Women’s Singles SL 4 title after they won their third straight match of the group. Sagoy held off Germany’s Katrin Seibert, while Noel brushed past England’s Emma Louise Stoner in just 12 minutes, 21-9 21-6.
In the Men’s Singles Wheelchair (WH 2) category, the semifinal results followed seedings, with top seed Amir Levi (Israel) and second seed Martin Rooke (England) making the final. Levi prevailed in a thriller over Finland’s Thomas Puska, 26-24 23-21, while Rooke had it easier, against Germany’s Rick Cornell Hellmann 21-14 21-9.
The Women’s Singles WH 2 final will be an all-Turkish affair with Emine Seckin and Narin Uluc booking their spots in the title clash. Seckin was too strong for Marcela Quinteros (Spain), while Uluc enjoyed a similarly one-sided result over Scotland’s Fiona Christie.
The Men’s Singles WH 1 will see Germany’s Thomas Wandschneider take on France’s David Toupe, while the Women’s Singles WH 1 will feature Switzerland’s Karin Suter-Erath versus Germany’s Valeska Knoblauch.
Suter-Erath gave herself a shot at a double title as she made the Women’s Doubles WH 1/WH 2 final with Cynthia Mathez. The Swiss pair face Emine Seckin and Man-Kei To in the final.
There were no surprises in the Short Stature (SS 6) class, with Jack Shephard and Krysten Coombs entering the Men’s Singles final and Rachel Choong and Rebecca Bedford the Women’s Singles final.
Bedford and Choong emerged winners of the Women’s Doubles SS 6 category with their third group win. The England duo beat Irina Borisova (Russia) and Simone Emilie Meyer Larsen (Denmark) 21-10 21-5.