Key events
Let’s head over to the Judo at Champs-de-Mars where GB’s Dan Powell has won silver in the men’s -90kg J1. Powell took on Arthur Cavalcante da Silva in the final but his Brazilian opponent was given the verdict.
Hewett digs deep to hold serve and make it 1-1 in the second. A fourth double fault of the match from Hewett had given Oda break point but the left-hander couldn’t take it. Worth pointing out that the last six games have been shared so it’s much more of an even contest.
Oda keeps coming up with the big shots and he roars to the heavens as another looped winner secures the opening game of set two after Hewett hinted at a break.
Time for another photo gallery. Some golden moments for ParalympicsGB on Day 10 and check out Colombian athlete Mauricio Valencia baring his fanged teeth.
Oda smashes a backhand that clips the line and that gives him the first set 6-2. Hewett is really up against it here although there were some better signs after he fell 4-0 down.
Better signs from Alfie Hewett. It’s a second straight break of the Oda serve and he cuts the gap to 5-2 to remain alive in this first set. A little clap from Oda as Hewett closed out the game with a lovely winner down the line.
Hewett gets on the board with a brilliant cross-court winner to break Oda in game five. But it proves a fleeting moment of joy as his Japanese opponent immediately breaks back to lead 5-1. Oda will serve for the first set.
Diary time with Paul MacInnes. Our correspondent enjoys an empty Champs Élysées, watches a legend and gets a lift from Paris’s volunteers.
Oda clenches his fist and Hewett grimaces as the current French Open champion hits two winners to open game four after holding serve again. A Hewett double fault gives Oda three break points and he takes the second to lead 4-0. This is all very one-sided so far.
Back to the equestrian where GB’s Georgia Wilson eventually takes the silver aboard Sakura, whom she described earlier as the “best horse in the world”.
Hewett loses his opening serve to love but that was more down to Oda’s brilliance than anyting to do with his injury. From 0-30, the Japanese teenager larrups two winners to race into a 2-0 lead.
Good news. Alfie Hewett has returned to the arena. That break was about 10 minutes long. Was it something and nothing? We’ll find out shortly as the Brit prepares to serve at 0-1 down in the first.
As the break in play continues in the men’s wheelchair tennis, the crowd on Philippe-Chatrier are now entertaining themselves with a sing song. Thankfully Cliff Richard isn’t at Roland Garros. Or would the French bring out Johnny Hallyday?
Bit of a concern in the tennis for Alfie Hewett. The Brit winced when hitting a winner at deuce in the first game and has now gone for physio on what looked like a groin injury. Oda isn’t too happy about a medical time out so soon.
Quick plug for our live coverage of the third Test from the Oval. England made 325 all out in their first innings, while Sri Lanka are 48-1 in reply. Rob Smyth will tell you more.
Oda, who only turned 18 in June, has won four of the last six grand slams. He’s a huge, huge talent. Hewett wins the toss and opts to receive in what proves a bit of an epic first game with the 26-year-old Brit having a couple of break points before Oda holds.
Welcome back to Court Philippe-Chatrier where Alfie Hewett is about to take on big rival Tokito Oda in the final of the men’s wheelchair tennis. The Japanese star has won both their two previous matches on clay just to note. They last met on that surface in the French Riviera Open, Oda winning 7-5 6-3.
I’m now on the Horse & Hound website – didn’t Hugh Grant work for them once? – and doing some background reading on Georgia Wilson. The Brit is now assured of her second medal of the Games – this one in the equestrian freestyle – as she sits in gold medal position with just two riders to go.
Just checking Alfie Hewett’s profile on the official Paralympics site. Here are some highlights.
Hobbies: Supporting English football team Norwich City
Ambition: To win a gold medal in doubles at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Tick! – ed)
Start: He took up the sport at age seven in 2005 at his local club in Norwich, England. (Athlete, 23 Aug 2024)
Reason: “To overcome my disability through making new friends, being active again and learning new skills in a sport that I hadn’t played before.” (Athlete, 23 Aug 2024)
Hero: Japanese wheelchair tennis player Shingo Kunieda. (Athlete, 23 Aug 2024)
Influence: His grandfather David Hooper. “[He had] many health issues, terminal cancer being one of them. His spirit and determination I admire.” (Athlete, 23 Aug 2024, 12 Jun 2016)
Philosophy: “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.” (Athlete, 23 Aug 2024; X profile, 13 Dec 2023)
It’s bronze for Argentina in the men’s wheelchair tennis. On his second match point, Gustavo Fernandez defeats Spain’s Martin de la Puente 6-1 6-2, sealing victory with a forehand cross-court winner. The two men embrace after an entertaining contest that lasted an hour and eight minutes.
The ParalympicsGB medal ticker has clicked on to 108. It’s thanks to a bronze medal from Mari Durward-Akhurst in the Para Dressage.
Alfie Hewett may not have to wait long. Fernandez leads 5-1 in the second set and is just a game away.
Emotional scenes in the table tennis a little earlier as Ukraine’s Viktor Didukh defeated China’s Zhao Shuai in the men’s singles MS8 competition. It went to a Game 5 which Didukh won 11-8 before leaping around the table, dropping to the ground and bursting into floods of tears. They continued to flow as he held the Ukraine flag up the crowd. That was Ukraine’s 18th gold of the Games, putting them eighth in the Medal Table.
Didukh was was diagnosed with cancer in 2008, resulting in the amputation of his left leg above the knee. He lost in the final to Shuai at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Alfie Hewett’s wheelchair tennis singles final follows the bronze medal match between Gustavo Fernandez of Argentina and Spain’s Martin de la Puente. Fernandez raced through the first set, winning it 6-1, and is serving at 1-0 in the second after an early break.
Some great pictures in this gallery from yesterday (Day 9 of 10). It includes GB’s Alfie Hewett, who returns to Roland Garros this afternoon for the men’s singles final after he captured gold in the doubles alongside Gordon Reid on Friday. Hewett is up against Japan’s Tokito Oda, part of the defeated duo in yesterday’s singles.
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GB v USA basketball showdown For the first time since 1996, Great Britain have made it to the men’s wheelchair basketball final, where they will face the double defending Paralympic champions in the shape of the United States. oth teams won three out of three in the group stage, romped through the quarter-finals and then dominated in their semi-finals, GB thrashing Germany 71-43 and the US equally emphatic in a 80-43 demolition of Canada The British team won bronze in 2004, 2008, 2016 and 2020 – and came fourth at the London 2012 Games. Saturday evening offers the men’s team a chance to finally end the long search for gold.
British stars of track and field
Hannah Cockroft will be favourite for tonight’s T34 800m final – the two-time defending Paralympic champion is unbeaten in the event at any major championships in the last 10 years. ‘Hurricane Hannah’ is going for her ninth career gold, and then has her wedding to teammate Nathan Maguire coming up in three weeks. Also defending a long unbeaten streak is Aled Sion Davies – the shot putter has not been beaten in the F63 category since taking the bronze medal at London 2012.
It’s not too late – well, let’s be honest, it’s nearly too late – to sign up for this. Sign up now and get Sunday’s offering (final day of the Games). You might even get today’s; I’m not too sure how it works. Main message: sign up.
Set your alarms (8.30pm) for this one later: GB v USA in the final of the men’s wheelchair basketball.
Ade Adepitan has been writing for the Guardian throughout the Games and let’s just say he’s pretty pumped for this one. Some great overall perspective too on the wider meaning of the Paralympics.
My three-year-old son has come to these Games and it gives me extra pride to know that his first experience of a major global sporting event is the Paralympics. He’s learned the word Paralympian before the word Olympian and he sees no difference between the greatness of the athletes in both Games. This is where we need to be at. Now, just bring home that basketball gold.
The ParalympicsGB medal count has risen from 101 overnight to 107 this morning. We’ve brought you the three golds (Fin Graham, Emma Wiggs and Charlotte Henshaw) and two silvers (Dave Phillipson and Hope Gordon) but there’s also been a bronze in the equestrian. Hats off to Sophie Wells.
Charlotte Henshaw and Hope Gordon reflect on their 1-2 in the water. “I’m so pleased for us both to be on the podium,” says Henshaw. “To share this moment together is unbelievable.”
A very tearful Gordon is struggling to get her words out. “We wanted those top two spots so badly. I think we’re so strong because of the support we get on and off the water.”
Both are racing again tomorrow so celebrations will be put on hold for now.
Henshaw leads 1-2 in VL3 va’a
Gold No. 45 followed soon after as Charlotte Henshaw produced a fast start and led all the way to win the women’s VL3 va’a.
The 37-year-old, who claimed the KL2 kayak title in Tokyo, won in 55.7 seconds, with compatriot Hope Gordon taking silver, 0.88 seconds behind. And it didn’t end there for GB at Vaires-sur-Marne Stadium this morning as Dave Phillipson delivered silver in the men’s KL2 kayak, clocking 42.43 seconds.
Wiggs retains women’s VL2 va’a crown
And gold medal 44 for Paralympics GB came as canoeist Emma Wiggs followed up the cycling success by retaining the women’s VL2 va’a title to win her third Paralympic gold.
The 44-year-old finished the 200-metre course in 58.88 seconds, while Jeanette Chippington – the oldest member of GB’s squad at 54 – was fourth.
Graham takes cycling gold in C1-3 road race
You look away for a short while and Paralympics have increased their gold haul from 42 to 45!
Let’s start with cycling where Fin Graham sprinted to victory in the men’s C1-3 road race earlier this morning. Here’s the report of a dramatic finish in Clichy-sous-Bois as the Brit claimed gold by a whisker from France’s Thomas Peyroton-Dartet.
Preamble
It’s been a gold-laden Games for ParalympicsGB and as we come to the final weekend in Paris, the medal table makes remarkable reading. The 100-medal barrier has been smashed and GB’s haul of 42 golds is now one more than the team managed in Tokyo last time.
And let’s hope it doesn’t stop there. More medals are up for grabs today, including Alfie Hewett in the men’s wheelchair singles final. After his gold alongside Gordon Reid in the doubles yesterday, this could quite the two days for Hewett, who had previously never sampled Paralympics gold despite a string of grand slam titles.
Another opportunity presents itself tonight in the must-watch wheelchair basketball between GB and the United States while on the track Hannah Cockroft will be favourite for the T34 800m final.
And, turning to the present, there’s plenty of action to get stuck into right now of course. Allons-y!