India send largest contingent for Fazza Dubai Para Badminton International

Dubai, May 6 (IANS) As the 6th Fazza Dubai Para Badminton International gets underway at the Shabab Al Ahli Club on Tuesday, India have fielded the largest contingent despite the country's Paris 2024 stars missing from the event.

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champion Krishna Nagar (men’s SH6) and Asian Para Games medallist Sukant Kadam (men’s SL4), Mandeep Kaur (women’s SL3) and others are among the 150 Para shuttlers from 30 nations.

Malaysia’s Paris 2024 Games champion Cheah Liek Hou (SU5) will lead the star-studded field, which will also include Paralympic and Asian Para Games medallists from South Korea, India and Hong Kong.

As part of the 14-member Malaysian team, Cheah will be accompanied by his men’s doubles partner Muhammad Fareez Anuar, with whom he won the Pattaya 2024 World Championships gold medal in the men’s doubles SL3-SU5.

South Korea will be spearheaded by seasoned wheelchair shuttlers and Paris 2024 silver medallist Choi Jungman (men’s WH1) and Kim Jungjun (men’s WH2), a bronze medallist in Paris. They will be hoping to bag some gold medals with China absent from the line-up.

For Hong Kong, Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games gold medallist Chu Man Kai will be hoping to return home with some medals. The three-time World champion will have his partner Wong Chun Yim, also an Asian Para Games medallist in the team.

The local challenge will be led by Emirati player Jamal Khalifa Al Bedwawi, who clinched UAE’s first ever international medal in Para Badminton with a bronze medal in the men’s singles WH1 event at the Czech Para Badminton International 2025 last month.

The 26-year-old will be joined by his Dubai Club training partners Siham Alrasheedy (women’s singles WH2) and event debutant Omair Mohammed (men’s singles WH1) – both of whom will be pairing up with Al Bedwawi for the mixed doubles and men’s doubles event. The UAE team will also have a representative in men’s SU5 category with Sinan Asif set to compete in three events.

The event holds significance as it offers classification opportunities for newcomers while the seasoned stars aim for world ranking points over six days of competition. The success of the event over the past few years has made the Fazza Championships a premier event in the BWF calendar.

--IANS

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