"The court conditions are quite bad" - Mandeep Kaur after losing her first match at Paralympics 2024
In the last edition of the Paralympics, India won four medals in para-badminton. With a larger squad representing the nation at the quadrennial games this time in Paris, the expectations are higher. In fact, the national head coach has publicly embarked on a target of a minimum of 10 medals.
Though India has had a mixed start. 12 out of the 13 para-shuttlers competing in Paris were in action on Thursday. While there were some impressive performances—particularly from Sukant Kadam and Tarun Dhillon—there were also some disappointing results. The most disheartening was Para-Asian Games medallist Mandeep Kaur's loss to Nigeria's Mariam Eniola Bolaji.
The match turned out to be a one-sided affair as Mariam Bolaji steamrolled Kaur in two straight games (8-21, 14-21). In a post-match interview broadcast by All India Radio, Kaur blamed the conditions at the court for her loss.
"Actually, the court conditions are quite bad," said Kaur. "There is a lot of drift and the court is quite fast from one side because of which the players are not being able to give their hundred percent."
Kaur further added that this affected her game as the drift was constantly on her mind and she feared sending the shuttle out before almost every stroke.
"There is pressure on the mind that (the shuttle) will go out," added Kaur. "So, I was not able to play my shots. Before every stroke, I had to think about what to hit, worrying that it might go out. Because of this I wasn’t able to give my 100%."
While badminton is an indoor sport, the air currents on the court can be affected by air conditioners. Kaur believes this is the case at the La Chapelle Arena, and so the toss turned out to be vital.
"From the very start it was in my mind that the court is quite fast from one side. I wanted to choose my side. But the opponent won the toss and chose that side," said Kaur.
Kaur, who is competing in the SL3 category, will now face Australia's Celine Vinot in a must-win encounter.
"I got practice sessions but on the first day, the air conditioners were not switched on" - Mandeep Kaur
Mandeep Kaur had clinched two bronze medals at the Para-Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China, last year. One in the single's competition and the other in the women's doubles alongside Manisha Ramadass. However, at the Paralympics, she is only competing in the singles event.
In the same interview, Kaur pointed out that she felt confident about her preparations coming into the tournament. However, now she is feeling the pressure.
"We were playing really well during the preparations. We were confident that we would beat our opponents easily. Over here, even though I don’t want to feel it, there is a bit of pressure being felt because of court," she said.
Kaur mentioned that she had practice sessions for three days at the venue before her first match.
"I got practise sessions but on the first day, the air-conditioners were not switched on. So, it felt pretty good. The other two days, there was a lot of drift," said Kaur. "I have one more group match, so I would try to play well in that one."
Kaur is placed in group B along with Bolaji and Vinot. At the end of the round-robin stage, the top two would make the next round.