Tokyo Paralympics: Suhas Yathiraj wins silver medal in men's singles badminton

Indian shuttler Suhas Yathiraj put up a valiant show yet goes down 21-15, 17-21, 15-21 against France's Lucas Mazur at the Men's Singles SL4 final of the Tokyo Paralympics on Sunday to clinch the silver medal at the Yoyogi National Stadium.

Yathiraj equalled the score at 1-1 in the first game with an immaculate smash that Mazur failed to return. The no.1 seeded Mazur goes in toe-to-toe as Yathiraj looked weak in his placement. Yathiraj, however, looked composed and pulled off two points in a row at 5-6. Going deep into clearance, the Indian pressurised Mazur to level at 7-7. Picking up three points in a row, Yathiraj led 11-8 at the interval against the top seed. Some beautiful set of tactical shots took Yathiraj at 14-9. A series of wrong placements by Mazur gave away some quick points to Suhas. Yathiraj held on to his composure by building on his lead earning five game points and eventually winning the game 21-15.

In Game 2, Yathiraj took an early lead of 4-1 but Mazur showcased his technical prowess to win four points in a row to equal at 6-6. Yathiraj confidently set up building points again leading 11-8 at the interval. His composed stature slowly took him towards a win with a lead of 15-12. Mazur, however, was digging deeper to equalise at 15-15 and earning a late lead of 16-15. Yathiraj capitalised from his service and earned another point with a superb smash. An intense game was being played where both competitors gave each other hard times to win points. Mazur pulled off an incredible comeback to lead at 19-16 and forcing a decider by winning the game at 21-17.

Into the decider, the Indian again earned an early lead of 4-1. Several miscalculated shots gave away points to Mazur, who levelled the scoreline at 9-9. Yathiraj led 11-10 at the halfway mark of the decider. A mouthwatering deciding game unfolded in front of eyes as Mazur equalled at 12-12. Mazur picked up during the last moments of the match edging 16-13. Mazur made Yathiraj worked harder for points and eventually it paid off for the Frenchman with a lead of 19-15. Luca Mazur sealed the gold medal at 21-15