Friday, November 24th, 2023.- While the finals in Para badminton at Santiago 2023 have not officially begun, the United States and Peru have already secured the first gold medals. This is because in the categories with a single group, determined by round-robin matches, both delegations achieved an insurmountable lead over their rivals, regardless of the outcomes of the remaining matches.

This is what happened with Americans Jayci Simon and Miles Krajewski in mixed doubles SH6 and Peruvians Pilar Jáuregui and Jaquelin Burgos in female's doubles WH1-WH2. Both pairs have already secured the first place in their respective groups and will stand atop the podium in the award ceremony.

In the case of Simon and Krajewski, they won all four of their matches, accumulating eight points, making it impossible for the two pairs from Peru, Canada, and Argentina to catch up. Their last victory against Peruvians Carmen Poveda and Nilton Quispe secured the gold.

"We knew we had to win, so we focused on not making mistakes. It was tough at first, but when we focused, we were able to pull through," said Krajewski, while Simon was ecstatic about the gold: "It means a lot to me. I'm very excited for both of us; I just can't believe it."

For the Peruvian pair Jáuregui and Burgos, they won all three of their matches against Brazilian pairs, also securing the top spot.

In categories with more than one group, semifinals and finals featuring a significant presence of Brazilians and Peruvians will be played tomorrow.

Written by Arturo Hernández y Alejandro Pérez; translated by Paulette Bertín / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport
Photo by Felipe Poga / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport