There were some great European performances in Spain this week as we focus in on likely Paralympians Bethell, Noel and Rosengren

England’s Daniel Bethell is in the form of his life as we get nearer to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, with a gold medal today in the SL3 men’s singles. 

A study of the world number two’s performances this week make it near impossible to believe that four other men, who are within the next ten ranked positions in the Race to Tokyo, were present as nobody was able to record a game score into the double-figures against Bethell, in the entire tournament.

Sheer dominance in Spain, Bethell conceded a total of just just 39 points over five matches to retain the Spanish title. We spoke with him after his victory as he speaks of this week and the buildup to the Paralympics:

- It’s been 18 months since I’ve competed internationally and it feels amazing to be back. I was apprehensive to begin with, I haven’t seen anyone for so long and I knew that I have been training hard and expected others have been too.

- All of my matches went exactly to plan, we executed perfect game plans all week and I’ve felt really solid. I wanted to come here and make a statement, to myself and to the rest of the world as we moved towards Tokyo 2020, he added

- This week cannot have gone much better and so it is a big confidence boost and I hope I can carry this momentum through into another training block. Team GB are in really good shape and I’m really excited, said Bethell

Read: Singapore Open 2021 cancelled

Noel – ‘working hard towards Tokyo’

Frenchwoman Faustine Noel takes two gold medals in SL3-SU5 women’s and mixed doubles with Lenaig Morin and Lucas Mazur respectively, and a bronze in the SL4 singles as she awaits confirmation whether she will feature in all three events at the Paralympics. Noel told us today how she felt about her performance on finals day:

- I’m really happy about this week, and although some of the world’s best players could not be here we are so pleased about being able to confirm our positions in the Paralympic rankings in both doubles events.

- It helps build confidence and we are keen to keep working hard towards Tokyo. Today marks 100 days to go until The Games and so we are no longer just waiting.. we are working towards them now and it is important for us to keep this competitive spirit with no more tournaments in the calendar, she added

Rosengren – ‘It is the reason I started playing!’

Cathrine Rosengren (DEN)  proved she is in fine form without playing her best badminton after a long break this week, she beat Japan’s Mamiko Toyoda in the SU5 women’s singles final and had this to say after the match: 

- I’m so happy right now! I’ve been playing okay this week but I don’t think it’s my best. I’ve been feeling good on court and my game plans have been working so that is encouraging

- Training at home has been going really well lately and I’m working hard. I guess I’m a little annoyed that I couldn’t reach my top level this week, but I didn’t have to and it is nice to know that I’m heading in the right direction, she added

- This is the first tournament for me in 18 months and I am sure more hard work on and off court will help me reach my best for the Paralympics. I am happy and also relieved to have qualified for The Games, it is definitely a dream come true. It was the one reason I started playing in the first place. I just can’t wait!, said the world number three.

European round-up

Triple champion Lucas Mazur continues his dominance of the SL4 class, with gold in singles, SL3-SU5 mixed doubles with Noel and SU5 men’s doubles with French teammate Abdoullha Ait Bella.

It was an England 1,2,3 as Krysten Coombs steals the SH6 men’s singles title off Jack Shephard with a 23-21, 23-21 performance, whilst Isaak Dalglish picks up a bronze. Frenchman Fabien Morat collected double gold in the SH6 men’s and mixed doubles.

Helle Sagoy (NOR) was too good for the rest of the SL4 women’s singles field and solidifies her third position in the Race to Tokyo rankings, whilst Germany’s Valeska Knoblauch was undone by Sujirat Pookkham (THA) in the WH1 women’s singles final.

Look out for our next Para badminton update on our usual platforms. You can see the full list of Spanish International 2021 results on tournament software here.