Shuttler Pramod Bhagat bagged a gold medal in men’s singles SL3 event as India rode on a medal rush in badminton to end the penultimate day of the Asian Para Games on the cusp of 100 medals. Bhagat beat compatriot Nitesh Kumar 22-20, 18-21, 21-19 to claim the gold medal on Friday. The 35-year-old had earlier won a bronze each in Men’s Doubles SL3-SL4 and Mixed Doubles SL3-SU5 events, making it his most successful Asian Para Games.
Hangzhou is the fourth Asian Para Games for Bhagat who has won at least one medal in each of the last three Asian Para Games. The only edition from where Bhagat returned empty-handed from was his debut Asiad back in 2010. He won two medals from Jakarta 2018 —a gold in men’s singles and a bronze in doubles— and has a lone bronze from the 2014 Incheon Games.
“It’s a proud moment for me as I managed to give my best in my fourth Asian Para Games. I had to dig deep for this win and I used all my experience to win the close final,” Bhagat said.
“I would also like to congratulate Nitesh who really tested me. We know each other’s games very well since we train together a lot so it was a very challenging match. I am happy to defend my title,” he added.
Bhagat has now trained his sights on the Paris Paralympics qualification where — should he qualify — he will enter as a defending champion.
“I am sure I will make the cut for the Paris Games soon. This win has given me a lot of confidence. There are qualification events in Dubai, Japan, and Thailand and I will book my place very soon,” he said while acknowledging the support of Odisha government. The state government has announced a reward of ₹2 crore for Bhagat.
Shuttlers Suhas Yathiraj (SL4) and Thuslimathi Murugesan (SU5) also won gold medals in the singles category while the pair of Nitesh Kumar and Tarun took the gold in men’s doubles SL3/SL4. In Women’s Doubles SL3-SU5 final, India’s Manasi Joshi and Thulasimathi Murugesan won the silver, going down to the Indonesian pair in three games (16-21, 21-13, 14-21).
Krishna Nagar lost to Hong Kong’s Man Kai Chu in Men’s Singles SH6 final to secure the silver. Overall, India won eight medals in badminton as country’s overall medal count reached 99 (25 gold, 29 silver, 45 bronze) with the promise to breach the 100-medal mark on the final day.
Earlier in the day, archer Sheetal Devi shot gold in women’s individual compound open event, beating Singapore’s Nur Syahidah Alim 144-142.
India lose a medal
Meanwhile, India’s Pooja Yadav’s silver medal has been revoked following classification issues. Yadav finished second in Women’s Discus Throw-F54/55 event on Wednesday with a personal best throw of 18.17m.
“One of the participants has protested against Pooja regarding her classification arguing that she should belong to F55 and not F54 category under which she was listed. Her medal has been taken away,” said Gursharan Singh, India’s chef-de-mission.
F54 or F55 classifications involve athletes with spinal cord disability. “Such disabilities may improve with time and training, unlike the more permanent ones such as amputation. Hence, the classification may change with time. That’s why para athletes are constantly observed by a panel from world body at international events,” Singh explained.
On Thursday, World Para Athletics wrote to the Paralympic Committee of India stating that their observations of Yadav “do not align with the details of the athlete’s last evaluation session conducted on 22 February 2019.”
“WPA considers the athlete may have been allocated an incorrect sports class,” the letter, a copy of which is with HT, noted.
The world body conducted a fresh evaluation on Yadav on Friday following which her classification was deemed to be incorrect. India’s medal tally was also revised from 99 to 98 on Games’ website before Suyash Jadhav in 50m butterfly S7 final in the evening as India ended the day one short of the coveted century.
