By Ishwar Nath Jha
New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS): After missing out on Tokyo Paralympic Games, India's top Para shuttler Sukant Kadam hopes that an overseas training stint will prove beneficial for the upcoming tournaments and the 2024 Paris Games. The World No 5 player in the SL4 category added that he will leave no stone unturned for winning a medal in the Paris Paralympics.
The Basel 2019 World Championships bronze medallist Kadam is currently in Cartagena, Spain, which will also host the Spanish Para-Badminton International - a Level 1 tournament- from March 8.
"Of course, a medal is coming from Paris. But first I am aiming for Asian Games and World Championships. Before these two events, I will start my international circuit events with the Spanish tournament. I am here for training as well as for events also. It will help me to gain momentum for other tournaments," Sukant Kadam told IANS from Spain.
The ace shuttler from Maharashtra said that he came to Spain for training and to acclimatise to the European weather and court conditions.
"The weather and court conditions in Paris are similar to Spain and getting training and adapting to European playing style, learning new skills and tactics will ultimately help me for the quadrangular event," said Kadam, who admires India's top shuttler Saina Nehwal for her fighting spirit.
The gold medal winner of the National Para-Badminton Championships in Bhubaneswar, however, has yet to qualify for the Paris Games, but he is confident enough of qualifying.
Asked what went wrong for Tokyo Paralympics, the 28-year-o'd said he won't think much about the past.
"I don't think too much about the past. But yes, I am going to make sure the same mistakes won't happen again. I am focusing on my goal and as I said, my ultimate goal is to win a medal in the Paris Paralympics," said the winner of the gold medal at the Uganda International tournament.
"I am pretty confident that I will make it to Paris. It will be a dream come true to play in Paris and if I can win a medal, which I am sure, it will be special for me as well as my country," he said.