Tokyo Paralympics: Bhagat-Kohli lose opening match in mixed doubles

Tokyo, Sep 01 (PTI): India’s mixed team pair of Pramod Bhagat and Palak Kohli went down fighting against second seeds Lucas Mazur and Faustine Noel in the group B opener of the badminton event at the Tokyo Paralympics, here on Wednesday.
Bhagat and Kohli, competing in SL3-SU5 class, went down 9-21 21-15 19-21 against the French team in 43 minutes at the Yoyogi national stadium.
The Indian pair found the going tough initially as it lagged 5-11 at the interval. Things didn’t change much after the breather as the French duo zoomed ahead and quickly pocketed the opening game.
In the second game, the Indian duo gave a better account of themselves as they fought tooth and nail and earned a slender two-point lead at 13-11.
Mazur and Noel grabbed a point but the Indian pair reeled off seven straight points to reach the game points. Their opponent saved two points before Bhagat and Kohli roared back into the contest.
In the decider, the second seeds opened up a 13-9 lead but Bhagat and Kohli fought their way back to take a 15-14 lead.
However, Mazur and Noel soon grabbed lead and eventually edged out the Indian pair.
Thailand pair of Siripong Teamarrom and Saensupa Nipada is the third team in the group B.
Bhagat, who is the reigning world champion, will compete in men’s singles (SL3) as well, while Kohli will be participating in women’s doubles (SL3-SU5) with Parul Parmar and women’s singles (SU5).

Swimmer Suyahsh Jadhav disappoints, disqualified for rule violation

Tokyo: Indian para swimmer Suyash Jadhav endured a disappointing outing in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB7 final of the ongoing Paralympic Games as he was disqualified for a rule violation here on Wednesday. Jadhav, who won a gold in Asian Para Games in 2018 along with two bronze medals and a silver in the 2016 German Swimming Championship, was disqualified as he didn’t comply with World Para Swimming’s rule number 11.4.1, which states that “at any time prior to the first breaststroke kick after the start and after each turn, a single butterfly kick is permitted.” The 27-year-old Jadhav, whose two hands were amputated below the elbow at the age of 11 due to electrocution, was found to have “performed more than one fly kick after the turn”. The gold in this event was won by Serrano Zarate CD of Columbia with a personal best timing of 1:12.01s.
The silver and bronze were bagged by Egor Efrosinina of Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) with a timing of 1:16.43s and Australia’s Blake Cochrane, who clocked 1:16.97s respectively.
Swimmers in S7 class have limited leg function or are missing a leg or parts of both legs, or have amputations and cerebral palsy. SB stands for breaststroke.
Jadhav had missed out on his first event — the 200m individual medley SM7 — on Friday as he was suffering from cold and sore throat. He will compete in the 50m butterfly S7 event on Friday.