Tokyo Paralympics silver medalist Suhas Yathiraj prevailed in an all-Indian semifinal while Nitesh Kumar also won his final four encounter to help India confirm two more medals in para badminton at the Paris Paralympics 2024. (Full Coverage | More Sports News)
Nitesh got the better of his Japenese rival Daisuke Fujihara in straight games, earning a 21-16, 21-12 victory in the semifinal of the men's single SL3 category. In the all-Indian semifinal of the men's singles SL4 classification, Suhas Yathiraj defeated Sukant Kadam 21-17, 21-12 to go to the gold medal match.
An IIT Mandi graduate, Nitesh had a great outing as he controlled the match from start to end to book a ticket to the final.
"I have been performing consistently, so I had the self belief that I will make the finals and it feels amazing to actually do that because there is pressure and I had lost my mixed doubles but I didn't let it affect me," he said.
SL3 class players, like Nitesh, compete with more severe lower limb disabilities, requiring play on a half-width court. Nitesh's final opponent will be Great Britain's Daniel Bethell, the silver medalist at Tokyo Paralympics.
Suhas, a 2007 batch IAS officer, beat Sukant 21-17, 21-12 to make his second consecutive Paralympics final.
"Still can not believe it. I thank God. It is destiny. Today I tried not to take too much pressure on myself," Suhas said after the win.
The win for Suhas sets up a 2020 Tokyo Paralympics final rematch with France's Lucas Mazur, the opponent who had defeated the Indian in the gold medal match last time. After three years, Suhas will have the chance to settle the scores with Mazur.
"He considers me as one of the opponents to beat and I consider him as one of the opponents to beat. I do not want to take pressure on myself. We both know each other's games well... I will just go out and enjoy myself and I am thankful to God."
Sukant, on the other hand, will play for the bronze after losing to Suhas.
