Halime Yildiz, Lucas Mazur, and Man-Kei To have won titles at the Brazilian tournament, with many more Europeans taking home medals.
The Brazil Para Badminton International 2023 took place last week from 10 until 16 April in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The top Para badminton athletes travelled to the BWF Para Badminton International Level 2 tournament to continue earning points towards the Paris 2024 qualification.
There were many European players that achieved great results on Brazilian soil. In the SL 3 women’s singles, Türkiye’s Halime Yildiz won the title in a hard-fought match against India’s Manasi Girishchandra Joshi, 21-11, 18-21, 21-9. This is the first title of the year for the Para World Championships 2022 runner-up.
In an all-European WH 1 women’s singles final, we saw a clash between two of the continent’s best. Belgium’s Man-Kei To and Switzerland’s Cynthia Mathez have met in the three international Para tournaments that we’ve had this year so far.
The Belgian player won the encounter in straight games, 21-16 21-16. Mathez ended up taking home two silvers, having also reached the finals with Ilaria Renggli in WH 1 - WH 2 women’s doubles.
France, a strong Para badminton nation, was present in three finals. Maud Lefort in SU 5 women’s singles and Faustine Noel in SL 4 women’s singles finished as runner-ups. In SL 4 men’s singles, Lucas Mazur won the title with a victory against India’s Tarun Tarun, 21-7 21-13.