Suhas signs off with back-to-back silver at Paralympics
Indian shuttler Suhas Yathiraj secured his second successive Paralympics silver medal in men's singles SL4 after going down in straight games to favourite Lucas Mazur of France in the final.
The 41-year-old Suhas, a 2007 batch IAS officer, looked tentative and was no match for the formidable French, losing 9-21, 13-21 in a lop-sided summit clash.
The loss meant Lucas once again denied Suhas the glory, having beaten him in the Tokyo Paralympics final three years ago.
Born with a congenital deformity in his left ankle, which significantly affected his mobility, Suhas plays in SL4 category which is meant for athletes competing while standing with less severe impairment than in SL3.
His silver took India's medal tally in Paris Paralympics para-badminton to four, following the gold won by Kumar Nitesh (SL3) and silver and bronze claimed by Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manisha Ramadass in women's singles SU5.
Indian shuttlers Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manisha Ramadass signed off with maiden silver and bronze medals respectively in women's singles SU5 category at the Paralympics in Paris on Monday.
The 22-year-old Thulasimathi, the number one seed, put up a fight before going down 17-21, 10-21 against China's defending champion Yang Qiuxia in the final.
Second seed Manisha, playing at the adjacent court, outplayed Denmark's Cathrine Rosengren, seeded third, 21-12, 21-8 to claim the bronze medal.
The SU5 category is for athletes with impairment on the upper limbs, which could be in the playing or the non playing hand.
The two medals added to India's first badminton gold in the Paris Paralympics won by Nitesh Kumar in the SL3 category.
