India’s gold medal-winning para shuttler Krishna Nagar dedicates prize to national coach Gaurav Khanna on the special occasion; compatriot Suhas Yathiraj bags silver in SU4 class
India’s Krishna Nagar returns to Hong Kong’s Chu Man Kai during their men’s singles SH6 gold medal match at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics on Sunday
It was a super Sunday as India’s paralympians signed off on a high with two medals in badminton. And aptly, Krishna Nagar and Suhas Yathiraj gifted their gold and silver medal respectively to their coach Gaurav Khanna to mark the occasion of Teacher’s Day.
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Second seed Nagar, 22, beat Hong Kong’s Chu Man Kai 21-17, 16-21, 21-17 in the men’s singles SH6 (short stature) class final to win gold. Yathiraj, 38, an IAS officer, who is currently serving as a District Magistrate in Noida, went down fighting 21-15, 17-21, 15-21 to two-time world champion Lucas Mazur of France in the men’s singles SL4 class final.
India’s para shuttler Suhas Yathiraj with his men’s singles SU4 category silver medal in Tokyo on Sunday. Pics/AP, PTI
A delighted Nagar immediately attributed India’s para badminton success to national coach Khanna. “Today is Teacher’s Day and Gaurav sir is delighted because I have gifted him this special gold medal on this day. My mother and father are my gurus and they’ll be very happy too. I also thank all those coaches and people, who have supported me through this journey. This is a dream come true,” Nagar said during a virtual media interaction from Tokyo on Sunday.
“There cannot be a better gift than this on the occasion of Teacher’s Day. Even when I got the Dronacharya Award [in 2020], I had a similar feeling that I couldn’t express. And today, with these medals at the Paralympics, I feel overwhelmed again,” said Khanna.
Para badminton national coach Gaurav Khanna
Speaking of the closely contested final Nagar said: “Generally, I never play under pressure and hardly make any errors, but after winning the first game [21-17] when I lost a few points, I suddenly came under pressure and ended up losing the second game [16-21]. Even in the third game, there were ups and downs, but somehow I managed to fight back and win.”
Meanwhile, Yathiraj, who spent most of last year as a COVID-19 frontline warrior in Noida’s Gautam Buddha Nagar, revealed how he managed to train and keep fit despite his hectic schedule. “I always believe it’s not important for how many hours you train. It’s important how hard you train during those hours. My hard work had paid off. God and destiny have been kind, offering me this opportunity, this stage. If I can inspire even one youngster to put his or her best foot forward, I will feel I have succeeded in life,” said Yathiraj.
Meanwhile, India’s mixed doubles duo of Pramod Bhagat and Palak Kohli finished fourth. They suffered a narrow 21-23, 19-21 defeat to Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara and Akiko Sugino in the bronze-medal play-off (SL3-SU5 class).
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