Krishna Nagar finally breaks his semi-finals jinx to claim gold at Tokyo Paralympics

The World Championship and Asian Championship bronze medalist has been close to tasting victory before but could never quite get over the hurdle, losing in the semi-finals on both occasions. Those semi-finals losses haunted him as he vowed to finally lay the ghost of his defeats to rest at the Tokyo Paralympics.

"People have a lot of expectations, but the only expectation I have from myself is that I cross the semifinal hurdle and give myself a shot at winning the gold medal. Both in Asian Games and World Championships, I lost in the semifinal. It is kind of an Achilles heel, and I want to overcome that," Krishna described his goal going into the Tokyo Paralympics.

Krishna is no stranger to these obstacles as he zoned in and put in his maximum efforts to train as hard as possible in preparation for the Paralympics. The one true goal he had set his mind on achieving was to win a Paralympics gold for his father, who was a former softball player and could not pursue his sporting dreams. The father lives his dreams vicariously through his son, and Krishna being the ideal son that he is, wants to make his father's dreams come true.

"My family has always supported me. My parents have taught me a lot. In fact, the first time I held a badminton racquet was with my father. He used to play softball and had played until the national level but could not pursue it further due to family issues. It was his dream that either my siblings or I reach the Olympics. Now that I have qualified, I want to return with a medal for him," he says in an interview before embarking on his Paralympic journey.

He made both the country and his father proud by returning home with the gold. Krishna Nagar, remember the name, you will see the young star on the podium more often than not now that he has tasted success at the highest level.