Sarina Satomi wins Japan's first-ever Paralympic gold in badminton

Sarina Satomi has fulfilled her wish to be the 'first queen of Para badminton' when she beat Thailand's Sujirat Pookkham 2-1 in the women’s singles WH1 a gold medal match at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Paralympics on September 4.

Sarina Satomi of Team Japan reacts during the women’s singles WH1 gold medal match against Thailand's Sujirat Pookkham on day 11 of Tokyo 2020 Paralympics at Yoyogi National Stadium on September 4. (Photo: Getty Images)
Sarina Satomi of Team Japan reacts during the women’s singles WH1 gold medal match against Thailand's Sujirat Pookkham on day 11 of Tokyo 2020 Paralympics at Yoyogi National Stadium on September 4. (Photo: Getty Images)

Satomi lost the first set 14-21 and didn't find her rhythm until the second set. From there on, the Japanese athlete took the reins back to win 21-19 21-13 to clinch victory and claim Japan's first gold in the sport.

Earlier, Malaysia’s Cheah Liek Hou beat Indonesia's Anrimusthi Dheva 21-17 21-15 in the men’s singles SU5 final to win the first-ever Paralympic gold medal in para badminton. The bronze medal went to Indonesia’s Nugroho Suryo who beat Chinese Taipei's Fang Jen Yu 2-0.

Charlotte Henshaw, a former para swimmer who switched to para canoe, won her first gold medal in the women's kayak single 200m KL2 today at Sea Forest Water way, beating pre-event favourite and teammate Emma Wiggs for gold.

Charlotte Henshaw of Team Great Britain celebrates her gold medal in the women’s kayak single 200m KL2 final on September 4. (Photo: Getty Images)

Slovakia's Samuel Andrejcik, Michaela Balcova and Martin Streharsky emerged as the winners of the BC4 boccia gold medal match at Ariake Gym Centre beating the Hong Kong (China) team 3-2.

The gold medallists in athletics on Saturday afternoon included Walid Ktila (Tunisia) – Men’s 800m T34; Ahmad Hindi (Jordan) – Men’s shot put F34; Orkhan Aslanov (Azerbaijan) – Men’s long jump T13; Deng Peicheng (China) – Men’s 100m T36; Lamiya Valiyeva (Azerbaijan) – Women’s 400m T13; Renata Sliwinska (Poland) – Women’s shot put F40; and Lamiya Valiyeva (Azerbaijan) – Women’s 400m T13.

Netherlands' Diede de Groot and Aniek van Koot were on fire as they showed masterclass tennis today at Ariake Tennis Court Centre. The Dutch pair were tough to beat winning against Great Britain's Lucy Shuker and Jordanne Whiley 6-0 6-1 to claim the women’s doubles gold.

Brazil defeated Canada 3-1 to win their second consecutive Paralympic bronze medal in the women’s sitting volleyball. Meanwhile, Bosnia Herzegovina held off the challenge against the Brazilians to clinch bronze in the men’s event.

Indonesia’s Nugroho Suryo claimed bronze in the men's single SU5 badminton after beating Chinese Taipei's Fang Jen Yu 2-0. This is the first-ever Para badminton medal won since the sport made its debut at Tokyo 2020.

Tokyo 2020