Paris Paralympics 2024 Para-Canoeing: Prachi Yadav finishes eighth in Final A, Yash Kumar faces semi-final exit

India's para-canoe athletes Yash Kumar and Prachi Yadav gave it their all at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Competing against some of the world's best athletes, both paddlers delivered commendable performances in their respective events, with Yash participating in the Men’s Kayak Single 200m KL1, and Prachi representing India in the Women's Va'a Single 200m VL2.

While Yash's campaign ended in the semi-finals, Prachi advanced to the prestigious Final A, marking another milestone in her Paralympic career. The athletes put up a great fight, with Prachi repeating her successful performance from Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, where she had also reached the Final A in the same event. Unfortunately, she failed to win a medal this time around as well.

---

Individual Performances:

Men’s Kayak Single 200m KL1 – Yash Kumar

Yash Kumar competed in semi-final 1 of the Men’s Kayak Single 200m KL1 event, finishing fifth with a time of 1:02.03. The race was highly competitive, featuring elite athletes from various nations.

The semi-final was won by Iran’s S. Hosseinpoorzarouni, who set the pace with an impressive time of 49.53 seconds, securing a spot in the final. Hungary’s R. Suba followed closely with a time of 49.82 seconds to also qualify for the final. Portugal’s A. Santos finished third with 53.10 seconds, while Spain’s A. Castaño Forteza came in fourth with 55.20 seconds.

Unfortunately, Yash’s time was not enough to secure a place in the final. Since there was no Final B in this discipline, his journey at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games came to an end.

---

Women’s Va’a Single 200m VL2 – Prachi Yadav

Prachi Yadav continued her stellar form in the Women’s Va’a Single 200m VL2 event, competing in the semifinal (Semi-final 2). She finished third with a time of 1:05.66, securing a spot in Final A. The race was won by Great Britain’s J. Chippington, who finished with a time of 1:02.65. Uzbekistan’s I.

Rustamova came in second with a time of 1:04.39, edging out Prachi. The remaining competitors, D. Boldizsar of Hungary and I. Shafir of Israel, finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

This marked Prachi Yadav's second consecutive qualification to Final A at the Paralympic Games, having achieved the same feat at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

In Final A, Prachi gave her best but finished eighth with a time of 1:08.55. The final was dominated by Great Britain's E. Wiggs, who took gold with a time of 58.88.

---

Final Results:

Men’s Kayak Single 200m KL1 Semifinal 1 Results:

S. Hosseinpoorzarouni (Iran) – 49.53 (Qualified for Final A)

R. Suba (Hungary) – 49.82 (Qualified for Final A)

A. Santos (Portugal) – 53.10 (Qualified for Final A)

A. Castaño Forteza (Spain) – 55.20 (Qualified for Final A)

Yash Kumar (India) – 1:02.03

Women’s Va’a Single 200m VL2 Final A Results:

E. Wiggs (Great Britain) – 58.88 (Gold)

B. Hennessy (Canada) – 1:00.12 (Silver)

S. Seipel (Australia) – 1:01.39 (Bronze)

J. Chippington (Great Britain) – 1:02.41

D. Ribeiro Benevides (Brazil) – 1:04.29

V. Biglia (Italy) – 1:04.94

I. Rustamova (Uzbekistan) – 1:05.11

Prachi Yadav (India) – 1:08.55