Thursday, November 23rd, 2023.- Although Para badminton at Santiago 2023 has not yet awarded medals, after the first two days of group matches, a clear dominance of Brazil and Peru is noticeable in various categories. 

On Thursday, Peruvian players won 19 matches and lost eight, the majority of them against Brazilian opponents. The same happened with the Brazilians, who won 20 and lost 10 matches, almost all against Peruvian rivals. Therefore, it is easy to anticipate that they will face each other in the category finals later on. 

One of the few to interrupt the dominance of Brazilian and Peruvian athletes was a Chilean: Jaime Aránguiz, who in the WH2 male's category defeated Brazilian José Antonio Chaves 21-17 and 21-7 in Group B, securing his spot in the semifinals. 

Aránguiz had debuted on Wednesday by defeating Peruvian Jaime Fajardo, and on Friday, he will conclude his participation in the first phase against another Brazilian, Edmar Barbosa. Whether he wins or loses, the Chilean has already secured one of the top two spots in the group. 

The other four Chilean players who saw action on Thursday suffered defeats. The same happened on Wednesday, so Aránguiz is representing the local team well. 


Written by Arturo Hernández - Alejandro Pérez; translated by Rocio Rojas / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport 
Photo by Felipe Poga / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport