Shuttler Manisha shines but star shooter Avani misses out

Manisha Ramadass assured India of a second medal from the badminton courts by setting up the women's singles SU5 semi-final with compatriot Thulasimathi Murugesan but star shooter Avani Lekhara missed out on repeating her medal-winning feat at the Paris Paralympics here Sunday.

The 19-year-old Manisha, who was born with Erb's palsy which affected her right arm, had no trouble in dispatching Japan's Mamiko Toyoda 21-13 21-16 in the quarterfinals. The second seeded Indian lefthander needed 30 minutes to down her unseeded rival.

Erb's palsy is a nerve disorder in the shoulder and arm that results in weakness or loss of muscle function.

In the last four, Manisha will meet top seed Thulasimathi, who had defeated Portugal's Beatriz Monteiro in group A on Saturday.

In SU5 category, the players have impairment of the upper limbs. The impairment could be on the playing or non-playing hand.

This is not the only allIndian semifinal clash in badminton as Sukant Kadam will meet compatriot Suhas Yathiraj in SL4 last four.

However, Mandeep Kaur and Palak Kohli were eliminated following contrasting defeats in their respective quarterfinals.

Competing in SL3 category, Mandeep hardly posed a challenge to Nigeria's third seed Bolaji Mariam Eniola, losing the contest 8-21 9-21 in 23 minutes. It was the second consecutive defeat for Mandeep against Eniola, having lost to the Nigerian in the group stage as well. SL3 category is for players with severe lowerlimb disability competing on a half-width court.

In SL4 category, para world championship bronze medallist Palak went down fighting 19-21 15-21 to Indonesia's Khalimatus Sadiyah in 28 minutes. In this category, athletes compete while standing with less severe impairment than in SL3. Nitesh Kumar will fight it out with Japan's Daisuke Fujihara in the men's singles semifinal in SL3 category.