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Bhutan’s para badminton player Sapuna Subba is currently in Bahrain for the Bahrain Para Badminton International 2022.

It is her second international participation amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Of the three games played as of yesterday evening, she won one.

On May 17, she and her Bangladeshi partner lost to the players from England by 5-25 in the mixed doubles category.  On May 16, Hongkong players humbled Sapuna and her companion with 25-4 in the same category.

Sapuna said the double category was completed as it was in knockout format.

In the single division, she defeated Bahrain’s player Mohammad by 25-3 on May 16.  She is scheduled to play her second match against Egypt.

Sapuna Subba, who completed Class  XII from Gesarling Central School, Dagana last year has become the first para-athlete to win two bronze medals in an international competition in December 2021 from the Asian Youth Para Games in Bahrain.

Sapuna said the current tournament in Bahrain is challenging as many world champions are participating and winning a medal is difficult.

She said she also applied for the in-country undergraduate scholarships, but she will also focus equally on para games to encourage others.

Sapuna and her Coach Dorji landed in Bahrain on May 12 and completed a three-day para-badminton training to improve coaches’ capacity and players’ skills.

The tournament began on May 16 and it will close on May 21.

Bahrain International is an open international badminton tournament presented by the Bahrain Badminton and Squash Federation, and sanctioned by Badminton World Federation and Badminton Asia.