Rising stars are emerging, while experienced players are in the fifth edition of the 2023
Dubai
Their dominance was cemented when the Para Badminton International came to an end.
Paralympic and Asian Paralympic Games stars Qu Zimo, Yin Menglu (WH1) and Liu Yutong (WH2) continued their amazing form, winning two gold medals each as China topped the table with nine gold medals.
Other players such as Li Fengmei (WS SH6) and Cheng Hefang (WS SL4) also won gold medals for China.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's Muhammed Fareez Anuar claimed his first singles title of the year, while Nigeria's Mariam Eniola Bolaji won her first gold medal in Dubai after a fantastic week there.
Anuar beat Paralympic champion Xie Lianghou in the SU5 men's singles final in straight sets, 21-19, 21-19, before they jointly claimed their eighth SU5 men's doubles title of the year.
"I'm happy with my performance here. I'm happy to be in top form until the end of the year. Anuar has improved a lot in his game, but he has to learn a lot and become solid in some things," Liek Hou said.
Bolaji, who remains undefeated this year, was pushed to the limit by Indonesia's world No. 1 Siakulo Konita Iketiar, whom the Nigerian defeated 21-7, 13-21, 21-11 in the women's SL3 final.
"She (Syakuroh) is a tough opponent. She has great balance and is all over the court. It's nice to finally win it and fulfill one of my goals for the year," said an exhausted Bolaji.
Dominant, disciplined Kajiwara Other top-ranked players include Paralympic champion Daiki Kajiwara, who maintained his dominance, defeating Hong Kong, China's Chan Ho-yuen 21-14, 21-15 in the WH2 Men's Singles Final.
The Japan star also recorded his 100th consecutive victory after winning the semifinals on Saturday. "When I'm on the court, I don't think about the record. For me, I listen to what the coach says," Kajiwara said, adding that his focus is on "training" for the New Year.
Chan Ho Yuen added, "Kajiwara was a natural genius. It's hard to overcome his challenges; he's very disciplined, very focused and his control of the shuttle is amazing. In the men's standing competition, Paralympic champion Pramod Bhagat finished second behind his British rival Daniel Bessell in straight sets, 17-21, 8-21.
Asian Para Games champion Bhagat later admitted that he ran out of stamina and strength during the match. "He was a better player today. After the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, Bessel has put a lot of effort into his game and I can see his improvement. I have to get back on track now and work on my fitness and strength," said Bhagat, who also lost the SL3-SU5 mixed doubles final to Indonesia's Leni Ratri Oktila and Hikmat Ramdani.
Meanwhile, India's Suhas Ralinakre Yathiraj was defeated 21-13, 21-16 by Malaysia's Mohammad Amin Burhanuddin in the men's singles SL4 final, but he was satisfied with his performance this year.
After missing a couple of Grade 1 races, Yathiraj, who started the year ranked 39th, has slowly climbed the ladder by making the most of Grade 2 races.
"The only way to become a Paralympic contender is to play well in Division II and I did that. It has been a great season so far. At no point can you be complacent because qualifying for the Paralympics is a tough game from India itself," the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics silver medalist said.
Indonesia's top-ranked Oktila had to be content with a gold medal this time as she and her partner, Paralympic medallist Halimatus Sadia, lost to India's Manasi Joshi and Tulasi Murugesan in the women's doubles SL3-SU5 final.
