The cheers from the home crowd made all the difference for Japan’s Daiki Kajiwara and Sarina Satomi as the two wheelchair badminton stars struck gold at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games on Friday.
Kajiwara overcame South Korea’s Yu Sooyoung in a hard-fought three-game men’s singles WH2 final 2-1 (21-10, 18-21, 24-22), while Satomi successfully defended her women’s singles WH1 crown with another three-game 2-1 (21-16, 18-21, 21-11) victory over China’s Yin Menglu at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.
India had plenty to celebrate too, with Paralympic champion Nitesh Kumar defeating compatriot Pramod Bhagat in straight games 2-0 (21-18, 21-16) to win the men’s singles SL3 title, while Naveen Sivakumar marked his Asian Para Games debut with gold in SL4 beating Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan. 2-0 (21-9, 21-17).
Kajiwara Rides Home Support To Victory
For Kajiwara, who has enjoyed a remarkable winning streak in international wheelchair badminton, the pressure of maintaining that record was never far from his mind.
But with the crowd firmly behind him, the Japanese star found a way past Yu in a demanding final.
“Today was definitely a match I couldn’t have won without the crowd’s support, so everyone really helped me win, and I’m so happy I got to play in front of them,” he said.
Kajiwara admitted that his long unbeaten run occasionally weighed on him. “I tried not to think about it too much, but there were a lot of times when I couldn’t help thinking about it,” he said.
Satomi Makes It Two In A Row
Satomi had an equally difficult afternoon against Yin, whose speed and powerful clears repeatedly tested the Japanese player’s defence.
Rather than allowing her opponent to dictate the rallies, Satomi concentrated on moving Yin around the court and controlling the exchanges with well-placed clears.
“I wanted to use clears to control the rallies. The basic strategy in wheelchair badminton is to draw your opponents forward and then push them back,” she explained.
The strategy eventually paid off, securing Satomi a second consecutive Asian Para Games singles title.
“There were many difficult moments, but whenever I felt like I was about to lose heart, I could hear the crowd cheering me on,” she said.
Nitesh Wins Battle Of Indian Rivals
In the men’s SL3 final, Nitesh produced one of the day’s standout performances by defeating the experienced Bhagat without dropping a game.
Having won doubles gold at Hangzhou 2022, Nitesh was particularly delighted to add the singles crown to his collection.
“What made this victory more special for me was that I won in two sets against Pramod. It is one of the rarest things that happened because he is mentally very strong,” he said.
The celebrations continued with an early-morning phone call home.
“As soon as I called them they were shouting, my three-month-old nephew was there and he was smiling,” Nitesh recalled.
Naveen Rewards Five Years Of Preparation
For Naveen Sivakumar, gold on his Asian Para Games debut was the reward for five years of preparation.
The Indian defeated Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan in straight games in the men’s singles SL4 final, completing a journey built on improving his fitness, sharpening his technique and studying his opponents.
“This is the first Para Asian Games for me. It is a big achievement. I have been training for it for five years,” he said.
Naveen dedicated the medal to his parents and the many coaches who have guided him since he began playing badminton in 2016.
“I am ready to face expectations that will come after this victory. This is my age to prove my achievements,” he added.Results: Men’s singles WH2: Daiki Kajiwara (JPN) beat Yu Sooyoung (KOR) 2-1; Women’s singles WH1: Sarina Satomi (JPN) beat Yin Menglu (CHN) 2-1; Men’s singles SL3: Nitesh Kumar (IND) beat Pramod Bhagat (IND) 2-0; Men’s singles SL4: Naveen Sivakumar (IND) beat Fredy Setiawan (INA) 2-0.
