Shuttlers shine with more podium finish

India registered its largest ever medal haul at the Paralympic Games finishing with five gold, eight silver and six bronze medals in Tokyo.

With a total of 19 medals, India went past its previous best tally of four medals at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. In fact, India had a total medal count of 12 before the Tokyo Paralympics, but the tally now stands at 31. India had gone into the Games with an unprecedented contingent of 54 athletes.

On the concluding day today, Krishna Nagar gave India it’s fifth gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympic Games with a hard-fought win over Hong Kong’s Chu Man Kai in the final of the Men’s Singles (SH6) event.

This was the second gold medal for India in badminton in Tokyo after Pramod Bhagat won the men’s singles title in the SL3 event yesterday.

Krishna Nagar produced yet another fine showing to win the final 21-17, 16-21, 21-17 in a match lasting a total of 43 minutes.

Another shuttler from India, Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj ended his campaign with a historic silver after going down fighting against top seed Lucas Mazur of France in the Men’s Singles SL4 Class final this morning.

The 38-year-old Noida District Magistrate, who has an impairment in one of his ankles, produced an entertaining performance before narrowly going down 21-15, 17-21, 15-21 to two-time world champion Mazur in a 62-minute summit clash.

The Karnataka-born, who is the District Magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida), thus also became the first-ever IAS officer to win a medal at the Paralympics.

Double podium finish

India’s Pramod Bhagat secured the country’s fourth gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics on the penultimate day yesterday when he defeated Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell in the Badminton Men’s Singles (SL3) final.

Bhagat, the World Number 1 player in his category, won the final in straight games 21-14, 21-17 to clinch the first medal for India in badminton at the Paralympics.

Elsewhere, on Court 3, another Indian, Manoj Sarkar beat Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara 22-20, 21-13 in a contest lasting 47 minutes to win the bronze and make it a double podium finish for India in the SL3 event.
For India, this is the second double podium for the day (Sept. 4) and fourth in the Tokyo Paralympics. Earlier double podium finish were registered in Shooting Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 (Gold & Silver), Men’s High-Jump T63 (Silver & Bronze) and Men’s Javelin-Throw F46 (Silver & Bronze).