The triumphant Deaflympic week continues! Today, our masters of rackets and shuttlecocks are in the spotlight!
Hot final passions were boiling on the courts of the "Keio" arena, located in the Ariake Tennis Park.
In the badminton singles final, two Russian athletes, Shokhzod Gulomzoda and Mikhail Efremov, competed against each other for the first time in the history of the Games. Both confidently passed through the qualification sieve and the playoff, all stages of the 1/32, 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, and 1/2 finals of the knockout stage under the Olympic system.
In an uncompromising struggle for gold, both badminton players showed excellent, beautiful play, which could confidently be described as a masterpiece of world-class mastery for all present. Ultimately, Shokhzod, with a slight advantage, defeated his teammate Mikhail, becoming a two-time Deaflympic champion! Veteran Mikhail Efremov, respectively, won the silver medal!
It is also worth noting that Shokhzod Gulomzoda won his first Deaflympic gold medal in singles earlier at the Games in Sofia (Bulgaria) back in 2013. Years of hard work and the will to win bring results — twelve years at the peak of perfect athletic form!
The victorious march of our two leaders continued in the subsequent men's doubles finals, where Shokhzod and Mikhail convincingly managed to defeat the hosts of the court — Yuki Morimoto and Yasuhiro Nagashi — winning a second gold medal for the day. For the record — Mikhail Efremov became a three-time Deaflympic champion in this discipline (2009-Taipei, 2013-Sofia, and 2025-Tokyo).
The final "golden" chord was the victory in another final among mixed pairs. Shokhzod Gulomzoda, paired with debutant Elena Tyurina, managed to defeat opponents from South Korea — Kyungduk Shin and Min Park (21:12; 27:25) in a dramatic final match.
The second game was especially difficult and extremely tense, with the score literally being "neck and neck." The scales of success swung first one way, then the other. Even when falling at 22:21, Elena continued to repel her opponent's attacks. The tension grew literally with each serve, but our pair managed to edge out the Koreans with incredible effort. And what was happening in the stands was simply indescribable! Victory! And the third one of the day!
The final apotheosis — our badminton players have three gold and one silver medal! Bravo! Congratulations to our heroes and the entire coaching staff, who made an invaluable contribution to the overall victory!
Meanwhile, at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, our swimmers, after the morning semi-finals, fiercely battled in the water lanes in the concluding finals. Mark Troshin from Serpukhov distinguished himself with an excellent result (1:56.89), winning the silver medal in the 200m backstroke final. Stepan Skosyrsky from Tomsk fell short of bronze by just 0.64 hundredths in the 200m freestyle. We hope their success will inspire the other swimmers, and this is truly just the beginning of a big medal count.
Congratulations to Mark on the silver medal! The start has been made! In total, the team's overall tally by the end of the day is already 11 gold and 2 silver medals.
RESULTS:
Tomorrow, our cyclists will have their final start in the multi-kilometer group race. Taekwondo athletes will begin competitions in the poomsae discipline, and in Greco-Roman wrestling, Alexey Shemarov will fight in the final against a representative from Kazakhstan — Kayratkhan Shonku. Track and field athlete Victoria Aksenova will compete for the gold medal in the 400m hurdles.
Tune in to the live streams on the Deaflympics website! Let's cheer on our athletes as they strive for new victories!
Text: Nurlan Tazhigulov, Maria Mazhenina, Olga Troynikova
Photos: Mikhail Sinitsyn, Artemii Karpov, Ilia Sarykin
Translation: Daria Kudelina
