Man-Kei To at the G Badminton World Championships in Thailand. (Copyright BadmintonPhoto)
Our compatriot Man-Kei To from Ninove won a bronze medal in singles at the wheelchair badminton world championship in Pattaya (Thailand). In the semi-finals she lost in a three-setter to home player Sujirat Pookkham, the vice Paralympic champion. “I am satisfied and have learned more.”
For the first time in her career, Man-Kei To from Ninove reached the semi-finals of a world singles championship (WH1 class), after the tournament went very well up to and including the quarter-finals. With the Thai Pookkham, an absolute world star was on the other side of the net in the semi-finals. She is a multiple world champion and won silver at the Games in Tokyo. Moreover, she had the home crowd behind her.
Pookkham got off to a strong start in the first set and Man-Kei To soon had to chase. The set ended with a better feeling by our compatriot, but ended at 21-12. Man-Kei To started set two with more aggressiveness and built up a nice lead, which the Thai in turn could not make up for. Kiki leveled the score at 14-21. In a decisive third set we saw the scenario of set one: Pookkham started sharper and took an early lead. After a timeout, our compatriot got back into her game, but the match went to Thailand 21-12, 14-21, 21-11.
“I am satisfied with that three-setter,” says Kiki. “In the third set I put a little too little pressure on her at the beginning, which caused her to distance herself. Then I picked myself up and played my own game. Pookkham is a very strong opponent and I adapted a little too much. I will take that with me from this world championship to the next tournaments, I will learn from this. We still have four tournaments towards the Paralympic Games in Paris.”
The G Badminton World Championship in Pattaya ended for Man-Kei To with a bronze medal, her best performance ever at a World Singles Championship. In the mixed doubles she was eliminated in the quarter-finals together with her doubles partner Jaime Aranguiz (CHI).
24 feb 2024
Marc Colpaert
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2024-02-24 11:51:58
#Edition #pajot #NINOVE #ManKei #takes #bronze #Gbadminton #world #championship #Thailand
