At the end of a magnificent final, the Frenchman won the first Paralympic title of his career, the second of the day for French para badminton (21-19, 21-13).
“Charles deserves it so much, he has been in the shadows for a long time and I am sure that tonight he will take all the light.» For Lucas Mazur, who had won the Paralympic Games for the second time in his career a few hours earlier, there was no doubt that his “little brother” Charles Noakes would imitate him by winning his first gold medal. At 27 years old. The age of maturity. And his compatriot did not disappoint him by dominating the Englishman Krysten Coombs in the final at the end of a thrilling and fiercely contested final (21-19, 21-13).
No doubt tense, especially with this interminable wait and the delay in his match due to a technical problem, the Frenchman had difficulty getting into his final. Multiplying approximations, like a serve sent clearly out of bounds, the 4th player in the world found himself distanced from the start (2-6). But it only took two or three long exchanges, including one spectacularly concluded by a useless dive from his opponent, for Noakes to find the right carburation and get back into the set (7-8).
LIVE – Paralympic Games: Charles Noakes wins gold in parabadminton, 11th title for France
The sign that he was not going to give up, as he had said after his victorious semi-final. “I’ve come a long way. I didn’t really believe it, but I’m fighting for my parents, to give them the most beautiful medal and thank them for everything they’ve done for me. They allowed me to have a dream and make it come true. Now, I have to go for the gold. This final is going to be crazy. An extraordinary thing.” And it was with his heart that he came back to level (11-11). Before going ahead for the first time (13-12) and even taking a three-length lead (15-12). Coombs’ reaction was not long in coming and took the form of four points scored in a row (15-16). Right to the end, this first act was going to be tight and tense.
But in the money-time, the Frenchman managed to crack his opponent and with a stroke of genius, he concluded the first set (21-19), galvanizing the crowd that was still quite numerous in the aisles of the Arena Porte de la Chapelle despite the late start. Without knowing it yet, he had just achieved the hardest part because from the start of the second set, he began to dominate his opponent head and shoulders (9-2). A real demonstration of strength for a player who had not let a single set escape him during the entire tournament. And it was not in the final that this could happen to him. In the course of hair-raising exchanges, the two badminton players traded blow for blow, the shuttlecock twirling to the four corners of the court. The spectacle was sublime. And Charles Noakes was great, immense even, to fly towards his first Paralympic title (21-13). The 11th gold medal for France at “his” Games.
Paralympic Games: all of France’s medals in pictures
