Daniel Bethell was crowned the Canada Para Badminton International 2023 SL3 men’s singles champion yesterday following a 21-12 21-13 win over Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Pramod Bhagat.

The victory in Ottawa was the Englishman’s seventh successive over Bhagat since losing the Paralympic final to his Indian rival in September 2021.

It was also the perfect return to competition for Bethell, who was forced to retire in the Thailand Para Badminton International championship bout against Bhagat last month due to breathing difficulties.

The triumph is Bethell’s third this season – the others being the Spanish Para Badminton International and Spanish Para Badminton International Toledo, with both finals also straight games wins for the 27-year-old world No.1.

Meanwhile, Daiki Kajiwara won his 14th consecutive men’s singles title, stretching back to March 2022, in the WH2 category.

The Japanese world No.1, who has not lost a final for three years – the last coming at the 2020 Peru Para Badminton International – defeated Hong Kong China’s Ho Yuen Chan 21-15 21-1 to continue his streak.

Kajiwara ended the day with two gold, later combining with Hiroshi Murayama to overcome Koreans Choi Jung Man/Kim Jungjun 21-11 17-21 21-16 in three closely fought games.

FULL RESULTS