Indonesia’s Leani Thrills with Three Gold Medals

Leani Ratri Oktila of Indonesia ruled the courts with three gold medals while Malaysia’s Cheah Liek Hou picked up a ‘double’ as the First Fazza Dubai Para-Badminton International 2018 concluded at the Shabab Al Ahli Dubai indoor hall in Al Mamzar on Sunday.
Leani started off with a gold in the women’s singles SL4+SU5 (Standing Upper) category with a swift 21-11, 21-7 win over Turkey’s Zehra Baglar first thing in the morning session.

Pitted to play alongside Frenchwoman Faustine Noel, she then won the women’s doubles SL3-SU5 gold with a 21-17, 21-7 result against Zehra Baglar of Turkey and India’s Manasi Girishchandra Joshi before wrapping up her third and last gold with a 21-18, 21-18 win in the company of countryman Hary Susanto against the French duo of Lucas Mazur and Faustine Noel in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 category.
“I came here with three gold medals in mind and it feels nice to return with a goal accomplished,” a beaming Leani told Gulf News.
“The focus now is the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. But before that I have a couple of tournaments in Ireland and Thailand before I use the Asian Para Games as a final step for my Paralympic aspirations,” she added.

Nearly matching Leani’s accomplishment was Malaysia’s six-time reigning world champion Cheah Like Hou, Hong Kong’s Daniel Chan Ho Yuen and England’s Jack Shephard with two gold medals apiece.
Cheah won his first gold with a 21-14, 21-9 win over Poland’s Bartlomiej Mroz in the men’s singles SU5 category, and then shared a second moment of glory with countryman Hairol Fozi Saaba defeating the Indonesian pairing of Suryo Nugroho and Oddie Putra 21-15, 21-17 for the men’s doubles SU5 gold.
Ever-smiling Hong Kong lad Daniel Chan Ho Yuen also walked away with two gold medals. His first was in the company of Frenchman David Toupe with a 21-11, 21-23, 23-21 win over Mohammad Ikhwan Ramli and Madzlan Saibon in the men’s doubles WH1-WH2 category and the second was a 21-15, 21-11 win against Malaysia’s Madzlan Saibon for the men’s singles WH2 category gold.
“This is mission accomplished for me,” Daniel related after bringing down the curtains with his gold medal in the men’s singles WH2 category.
“I have worked hard to get where I am and now I am pretty much sure of what I need to do and where I need to improve to peak in time over the next few months,” he added.
Shephard was the other outstanding performer at the five-day competition with two gold medals to his name. The world champion in his category at the 2017 BWF World Championships in Ulsan first won the singles SS6 title with a 21-7, 24-22 win over Didin Taresoh of Malaysia. The Englishman then completed his double while combining with Krysten Coombs for a 21-12, 21-16 win over Hong Kong’s Chu Man Kai and Wong Chun Yim.
“The standard of competition has been quite high and we have been surprised at the level displayed especially by Asian countries. It is now up to us to play catch-up and match them,” Shephard said.
“The next few months are going to be critical for all of us as we prepare for our sport to be included at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo,” he added.
Hassan Mazroei, board member of Dubai Club for People of Determination was joined by Mohammad Abdul Karim Al Julfar, vice-chairman of the Dubai Club for People of Determination, Khalid Al Midfa, assistant general secretary, General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare (GAYSW) and Paul Kurzo, vice-president of BWF Para-Badminton at the presentation of medals to the winners at the end of the competition.

Courtesy : gulfnews.com
Photo : thedowntoearth

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