Tokyo Paralympics: Suhas Yathiraj remains in the fight for the gold medal, Dhillion to play for bronze

While Tarun Dhillon failed to pass Frenchman Luca Mazur in the semifinals of the men’s singles SL4, Suhas Yatiraj completely destroyed Indonesian Fredi Setiawan in the second semifinal to secure the gold medal of the Tokyo Paralympic Games in India.

Tarun Dhillon started off well against Mazur racing to a 2-0 lead in the first game but was soon brought down to earth as the French went into the break with an 11-5 lead. While it looked all over at this very moment, Tarun decided to give it his all and gave Mazur a run for his money before the world number 1 wrapped it up 21-16.

The second game started with Tarun leading to an 11-4 lead at the mid-game break, but the Mazur soon hit back bringing the deficit down to 9-12. However, the Indian kept his calm, kept it tight to win the second game 21-16 and force the game into a decider.

Lucas Mazur started the third game with a 2-0 lead, putting the Indian under pressure. But, with Tarun unwilling to give up. He still had a four-point deficit of 7-11 at the interval. Mazur maintained the gap and mapped his way to bagging the third game. He extended the lead to 16-11. Tarun picked up two successive points at 13-16, but it was not enough to halt Mazur. Tarun eventually closed in 17-18, but the French who won the match by bagging the decider by 21-18.

On the other hand, Suhas Yathiraj absolutely crushed Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan in the second semifinal giving him no chance. It was a stunning start for the Indian as he raced to a 10-0 lead before Fredy could muster his first point of the match. While the Indonesian did try to hit back, the deficit was just too big to overcome and Suhas pocketed the first game 21-9.

Though Suhas did not have as dominating a start in the second game, he went into the second mid-game break with an 11-6 lead. He picked up quick successive points to gain an eight-point lead at one stage and slowly raced towards the matchpoint to pocket the game at 21-15.