At his first Paralympic Games, Charles Noakes pulled off a masterstroke. On a melting sand at the Porte de La Chapelle (Paris), the 27-year-old Frenchman won the gold medal in badminton on Monday 2 September in the SH6 category, which brings together young players. He is one of three French athletes with this type of disability competing at the Games.
Imperial on the court, the badista who suffers from hypochondroplasia, a genetic disorder of the skeleton, taught all his opponents a lesson during the tournament in which he did not lose a single set in five matches.
In the final, it was her British friend Krysten Coombs (the two men had promised before the semi-finals to meet for the gold medal) who paid the price. Noakes once again demonstrated her enthusiasm, her strategic sense and her sacrifice to win 21-19, 21-13.
The first set ended with an exceptional point? The second set started at the same time. The player from Saint-Herblain (Loire-Atlantique) knocked out his opponent before quickly taking the lead. The rest of the match became a demonstration.
“Hard worker”
“It is one of the happiest days of my life, I am very moved and very proud. I had many doubts about my career but I followed my dreams”exclaimed the champion, drenched in sweat, after his match.
For Mourad Amrani, Charles Noakes’ coach, the rise of his protégé, who has been playing badminton for less than seven years, is not due to chance. “Charles has built a high-level project in 2019. To do this, he trains five to six hours a day. He is a hard worker. At the beginning, his main rivals, who have been “bad” for twelve to fifteen years, corrected him 21-5 in every set. And then, little by little, he began to reverse the trend. Today he beat them all at least once. [sauf le numéro un mondial hongkongais Chu Man Kai, défait en demi-finale]. »
On the pitch, the Frenchman of British origin (he was born in Sidcup, not far from London) is a model player. His court coverage and knowledge of trajectories are demonstrated in all badminton clubs, his technical qualities on the baseline are above average, his speed and physical presence impress his opponents.
His double victory, in the group and in the semi-finals against the Brazilian Vitor Tavares, number two in the world, was only a preview of what the Lightweight demonstrated the following day against Coombs. “Charles is a fighter, in a category that goes blow for blow.” confirms Mourad Amrani.
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