End of Group Play at 2023 Spanish Parabadminton International

By Mike Krajewski

Thursday brought the end of group play in all events and the beginning of the knockout rounds at the 2023 Spanish Parabadminton International. For Team USA, Richard Alcaraz was first on the schedule with a Round of 32 match in SL3/SU5 XD with partner Caitlin Dransfield (Australia). The pair advanced with a win over a Brazil pair 21-14, 21-16. Later in the day, in the Last 16, Alcaraz and Dransfield fell to a strong pair from India 21-12, 21-9. 

Alcaraz also completed men’s doubles group play with Kenneth Adlawan (Australia), losing to an India pair 21-7, 21-4 to finish in third position. Playing in the tournament is over for Alcaraz but he will continue his important role of coaching his SH6 teammates in their matches on Friday. 

In SH6 action, the USA players are alive in all their entered events. On the women’s side, Jayci Simon completed group play with a decisive win over world #5 Daria Bujnicka (Poland), 21-10, 21-4. The win advanced her as a group winner into the Round of 16, where she will face Yen-Wu Yu from Chinese Teipei. 

Speaking of the match, Simon stated, “I have been lucky to be able to compete with people from across the world. This match helped me to work on improving my skills and get ready for the next round.”

Simon and partner Miles Krajewski completed their group play in mixed doubles, needing a win against the Spain/Peru combined pair to advance out of the group. They earned a 21-5, 21-6 win while India defeated England in the other group match, creating a 3-way tie in their group. Through the tiebreaker process, their 2-game victory against India the previous day secured their second position in the group and allowed them to advance into the quarterfinals on Friday, where they receive a rematch with England. 

Krajewski and partner Vitor Tavares (Brazil)  finished the day with a men’s doubles victory over the combined pair from France and Spain. The 21-13, 21-17 win moved them to 2-0 in the group and guarantees them at least a silver medal with the chance to secure gold in their remaining match on Saturday. 

Friday action begins with Simon and Krajewski still alive and looking to add to their 2024 Paris qualifying points in singles and mixed doubles. 

Follow USA Parabadminton’s results on Tournament Software at: https://bwfpara.tournamentsoftware.com/tournament/3F10C1B7-4C97-4FEF-8D35-FA251EF57AA4

And follow the matches on Badminton Spain’s YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@BADMINTONSPAIN

Photo Credit: BadmintonPhoto (Craig Burgess, Alan Spink)

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