Jack Shephard takes his third international win of the year in Denmark and is one step closer to Tokyo 2020.

Englishman Jack Shephard solidifies his position as world number one and leads the charge to Tokyo in the SH6 men’s singles, after claiming gold today in Odense at the Denmark Para badminton International.

He won the final in straight games against world number three Nagar Krishna, 21-17, 21-18. The Indian had defeated Shephard’s teammate Krysten Coombs in a tough three game battle in yesterday’s semifinal.

Shephard had this to say shortly after the win:

- I’m really happy to have beaten him for a second time in a row. I played well tactically and I’m really happy with today’s performance.

- Hopefully this time next year I would have been at the Paralympics. It would be a dream! I’ve watched the Paralympics since I was a child and I’ve been into badminton since I was young as well, so if both of those things come together for me, words can’t explain what that would mean to me.

Read: Axelsen agonisingly denied the final

Olgiati and Mathez in golden form 

The Swiss pairing of Luca Olgiati and Cynthia Mathez beat all comers this week in the WH1-2 mixed doubles. The 21-12, 18-21, 21-12 final over Marcel Alves Conceicao (BRA) and Man-Kei To (GER) was the first international win for the pair. 

- We started well but lost our strategy in the second somehow, but we regained confidence and led the third game and managed to come through, said Olgiati.

- We are delighted with the win, we haven’t been playing together long. Let’s hope the federation puts us back together for more next year, added Mathez.

Dalglish and McVeigh win men’s doubles

The Anglo-Irish combination of Isaak Dalglish and Niall McVeigh added gold to their SH6 resumes today with a men’s doubles win.

The 21-11, 21-11 win over Fabian Morat and Charles Noakes (FRA) earned Dalglish his first ever international win. He had this to say after the match:

- It has been a long time coming for this international win! I’ve been on the losing side of a lot of finals, so to have this title with Niall is a special feeling.

For a full list of the Denmark Para badminton International 2019 schedule and results, see tournament software here.