The 4th Turkish Para-Badminton International gets underway today in Konya, and whilst Europe excelled last year, the fight is really on for medals in 2018
Last year’s success in Turkey was led by Poland’s Bartlomiej Mroz, who came away with both SU5 men’s singles and doubles titles among a total of 8 European gold medals. This week will undoubtedly see many of those titles change hands as the depth of competition in each ENESCUP event has strengthened.
This is true for nobody more so than the world number 3 Mroz, deciding to drop doubles and focus only on SU5 singles this year, the seeding has drawn him in the group of death in which he faces world number 6, local hero Ilker Tuzcu (TUR) and the world number 8 Tetsuo Ura (JPN).
Former World Champion in hunt for gold medal
The SS6 men’s singles title is wide open for Ireland’s Niall McVeigh this year in Turkey. With the absence of England’s top players and Asian competition reduced in strength, the Irishman will be looking to gain a first international title for some years, in a push back towards top 3 in the world over the coming months. Excited by the prospect, McVeigh had this to say
“..yea, it’s a shame the top players haven’t made the trip to Turkey this year. I heard it was a really good tournament here in Konya 2 years ago! It would be great to see how my training is paying off against the best in the world, but at the same time there’s a chance I could do well here and get some good ranking points. I just have to stay focussed”.
Read: Stoeva Sisters: first gold for Bulgaria and more
Mazur back to best after injury
Frenchman Lucas Mazur bounced back after a hamstring injury in March to win the Dubai International SL4 men’s singles last month, and also took Silver in the SL3-SU5 mixed doubles with teammate Faustine Noel. This week in Turkey Mazur will be looking to do one better as number 1 seed in both events and further his domination of the SL4 singles category. Winning the mixed doubles might just be enough to see Mazur and Noel move back to world number 1 spot there too.
For the latest results from Turkey, see the Tournament Software website here