Marcel Adam shocked the Para badminton world today in defeating Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan to secure a medal in Dubai.
It was in the quarterfinals of the SL4 men’s singles, with the stage set for the top three seeds to progress to tomorrow’s semi-finals, when Germany’s Marcel Adam provided the upset of the tournament so far.
Setiawan the Indonesian is the world number four and one of the favourites for a medal at the upcoming Paralympic Games in Tokyo. His opponent today was supposed to be brushed aside as he would make his way once again to fight tomorrow for a place in Sunday’s finals. But Adam had other ideas.
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The German, who’s name you will find on page three of the world rankings, somehow had the strategy and tactics to undo the fast moving, hard hitting world championship bronze medalist, as he powered ahead in game one to a 21-16 close.
The Indonesian asserted himself in game two and it seemed predictable that he would take the third easily but Adam made things difficult in the decider. At the change of ends he looked to have the confidence to go all the way and with a 21-17 finish Marcel Adam makes his way into a semi-final for the first time in three years.
‘I had tears in my eyes after the match’
We spoke with the German this afternoon to find out how he is feeling about the past year or two and this victory today, he had this to say
- I haven’t played competitively for awhile. I had surgery on my back in the summer of 2019 and gained 25kg, when I went back into training last year I felt like a newbie. I’ve lost 30kg with training twice a day. I’m focusing on singles now, and any doubles is just for fun.
- the fast rallies suited me today yes, and I had a good start as I was playing into the drift. I was able to push deep into his rear corners without any fear. Fredy was playing a little cautious with the wind behind him and I was able to keep on top of him, said the German
- it was difficult in the second with the tailwind and I made too many mistakes. But in the final set I played a lot more carefully towards the end and he made the errors. I was more than happy with the win, I even had tears in my eyes after the match, he added
- I hope to be able to repeat this performance tomorrow against Sukant (IND), said Adam
Follow the 3rd Fazza Dubai Para badminton international tournament here this week and across our usual platforms. The schedule and results can be found on tournament software here