Lucas Mazur (FRA) had a genuine chance at 3 international gold medals this week in Tokyo and will have to settle for two finals tomorrow, after a narrow German defeat in the mixed doubles.
Europeans feature in 11 of the 19 finals tomorrow inside the Machida City Gymnasium, outshining last year’s performance at the Japan International. One player with a dream of triple gold was Lucas Mazur.
The Frenchman hasn’t yet dropped a game in men’s singles and doubles this week, a relatively untroubled route through to both finals until today’s encounter with Japan’s Gen Shogaki and Tetsuo Ura which finished 26-24, 21-16. He and partner Meril Loquette were on best form, the pair getting better and better with each tournament this year.
Germany’s Marcel Adam and Katrin Siebert played just the right game in the mixed doubles, to unsettle Mazur and partner Faustine Noel. French tactics didn’t do the pair justice and they struggled to take control of that quarter-final which ended 21-18, 16-21, 19-21.
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“I’m delighted to be in two finals, especially the men’s double performance with my partner Meril as we have been working hard this year on preparing for the European Championships in November. We are close to our best at the moment.
I am very disappointed and frustrated with the mixed doubles, losing to 19 in the 3rd game. We didn’t feel confident on the court and didn’t put enough pressure on our opponents. Singles and Mixed is my priority as we move towards Paralympic Qualification, and there is a lot to improve in mixed for 2020 so we must work a lot harder. For the moment I play 3 events with the aim of a gold in men’s doubles with Meril in Rodez and after that I will focus on singles and mixed.
I recently changed training centre in France and I’m working very hard at the moment, I feel tired and it shows in my singles. It takes a little time to adjust, so for the moment I hope to be at my best tomorrow!”
For a full list of the Japan Para-Badminton International draws and results this week click here