Tokyo: A day after Pramod Bhagat became the first Indian shuttler to win Paralympic gold, compatriot Krishna Nagar repeated the same when he defeated Hong Kong’s Chu Man Kai 21-17, 16-21, 21-17 in the men’s singles SH6 final to clinch the top prize on Sunday.
Nagar also became the first-ever SH6 gold medallist in the history of the Indian Paralympics. This was India’s 19th medal in Tokyo and the fifth gold in the world’s grandest stage.
A few hours earlier, India’s Suhas L Yathiraj, also a Noida District Magistrate, created history, becoming the first-ever IAS officer to win a medal at the Paralympics. Competing against France’s Lucas Mazur for gold, Suhas lost 21-15, 17-21, 15-21 in the men’s singles SL4 event.
The 2007-batch IAS officer with a limb impairment, got off to a good start, winning the first set, before losing the next two sets in a 62-minute battle to settle for silver. Suhas had earlier lost to Mazur in the qualifying Group A match, but the Indian put forth a valiant attempt in the final to challenge the World No.1.
Earlier, Suhas won gold at the 2016 Asian Championships in Beijing, becoming the first non-ranked player to do it. Further international fame awaited him as he won medals in the BWF Turkish championships in 2017 and 2019, as well as a gold medal in Brazil in 2020.
Meanwhile, Tarun Dhillon was denied a bronze in the same event after losing to Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan. Setiawan won the game in just 32 minutes defeating the Indian in straight sets 21-17, 21-11.
However, the duo of Pramod and Palak Kohli lost to Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara and Akiko Sugino, missing out on a bronze medal in the mixed doubles badminton (SL3-SU5) category on Sunday. Pramod and Kohli were defeated 21-23, 19-21 in a 37-minute match.
