Furthermore, he compensated for the defeat experienced by colleague, Rungroj Thainiyom. The top seed in class 6, he was the victim of Jon Ju Hyon at the final hurdle (11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5), a player very much in form. In the penultimate round he had ousted Great Britain’s Martin Perry, the no.2 seed (11-7, 8-11, 11-2, 11-1), a player acclimatised to the time difference having the previous week competed in Tokyo.
“I don’t feel I played particularly badly in the semi-final I was just outplayed and he went on to win the gold. The last two weeks in Asia have been a massive learning curve for me. I’ve never been to this part of the world and it was a big culture shock. I’ve had a really good season and I’ve a few more tournaments left so I need to pick myself up and look to improve and push on for the rest of the season.” Martin Perry
Balancing the scales, competing in men’s singles class 8, Phisit Wangphonphathanasiri, the no.2 seed, accounted for Great Britain’s Billy Shilton, the top seed (11-4, 11-9, 12-10) at the final hurdle to secure the top prize.
“I’m happy to have got to the final but disappointed for it to have gone the wrong way. I felt that it took me too long to get into it and that is what cost me the match.” Billy Shilton
A silver medal for Billy Shilton, it was the same for colleagues Jack Hunter-Spivey and for Kim Daybell; each experienced defeat in the final when facing the top seed. Competing in men’s singles class 5, Jack Hunter-Spivey suffered at the hands of Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Ming-Chih (19-17, 11-7, 11-7),
“I feel I’ve played well this competition. I’m pleased to have got to the final with a good win in the semi-finals against Lin Yen-Hung, a tough opponent. I’m disappointed with the result in the final but I fought as hard as I could and left it all on the table and that’s all I can do.” Jack Hunter-Spivey
So near yet so far, it was even closer for Kim Daybell; he was beaten in the men’s singles class 10 final in a full distance five games contest against the Czech Republic’s Ivan Karabec (11-9, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-7).
“I feel my level was better but still not where I need it to be at this point of the season. He played well and I congratulate him. I needed to take my chances when I was leading in a few of the games; then the result could have been different. Hopefully I can play better in the team event.” Kim Daybell
Success for Ivan Karabec and Cheng Ming-Chih as status advised; in the men’s singles events; on the second day of play it was the same for Korea Republic’s Joo Youngdae (class 1-2), Lee Kyeonghun (class 4) and Jeong Kyuyoung (class 11), as it was for Thailand’s Anurak Laowong (class 3) and Jean-Paul Montanus of the Netherlands (class 7).
Two surprise winners on the second day of play in the men’s singles events, it was the same in the women’s singles competitions; India’s Bhavina Patel and Turkey’s Ebru Acer emerged the players to cause the upsets.
Competing in class 4, a group organised event, Bhavina Patel beat Chinese Taipei’s Lu Pi-Chun, the top seed (11-4, 11-6, 11-8) in her concluding group phase contest to maintain her unbeaten record. The silver medal the end result for Lu Pi-Chun, it was the same colour for the top seed in class 11; at the final hurdle Japan’s Nanako Hazeyama was beaten by Turkey’s Ebru Acer (8-11, 11-3, 9-11, 13-11, 11-2).
Otherwise in the women’s singles events that came to a conclusion on the penultimate day of action, it was success for the top seeds and success for the host nation. Thailand’s Chilchitraryak Bootwansirina (class 2) claimed gold as did Korea Republic’s Yoon Jiyu (class 3) and Kang Oejeong (class 5). Likewise there was gold for Iraq’s Najlam Al-Dayyeni (class 6) and for Josephine Medina of the Philippines (class 7-8).
Success, the wins added to the previous day when occupying the top seeded positions, in the men’s singles events, Malaysia’s Chee Chao Ming (class 9) had emerged victorious; a situation that applied in the women’s singles events to Thailand’s Chayanan Settisrikoedkun (class 9) and Chinese Taipei’s Tian Shiau (class 10).
The individual events concluded; attention now turns to the team competitions; play in Bangkok concludes on Saturday 10th August.
2019 Para Bangkok Open: Draws and Latest Results