Bhagat wins historic badminton gold, Sarkar claims bronze

Tokyo: Reigning world champion Pramod Bhagat claimed a historic gold medal in the men's singles SL3 class while Manoj Sarkar bagged a bronze as Indian badminton players dished out an impressive performance to continue country's medal rush at the Tokyo Paralympics, here on Saturday.

World number one Bhagat, who is also an Asian champion, humbled Great Britain's Daniel Bethell in the summit clash while Sarkar defeated Japan's Daisuke Fujihara in the third place play-off.

In SL3 classification, athletes with lower limb impairment compete.

Meanwhile, shooter Manish Narwal smashed the Paralympic record to clinch India's third gold in the ongoing Tokyo Games while compatriot Singhraj Adana bagged the silver to make it a sensational one-two finish for the country.

With badminton making its debut at the Paralympics this year, Bhagat, became the first Indian to win a gold medal in the sport.

The top seed showed great mental fortitude as he prevailed 21-14, 21-17 over second seeded Bethell in a thrilling final that lasted 45 minutes at the Yoyogi National Stadium.

"This is very special to me, it's my dream come true. Bethell really pushed me but I just kept my calm and played to my strengths," said Bhagat after wining India's fourth gold medal in the ongoing Tokyo Games.

"I would like to dedicate this to my parents and to everyone who has supported me throughout. I'm glad I could make India proud."

Bhagat said he had a strategy in place for his rival.

The 33-year-old from Bhubaneswar also remains in contention for a bronze medal in mixed doubles SL3-SU5 class.

Bhagat and his partner Palak Kohli will meet Japanese pair of Daisuke Fujihara and Akiko Sugino in the bronze medal play off on Sunday.

The 31-year-old Sarkar, whose right leg was affected after he contracted polio at age one, displayed great resilience during his 22-20 21-13 win over Fujihara.

Sarkar had lost his semi-finals against second seeded Bethell, going down 8-21, 10-21 in SL3 class. But he recovered quickly from the defeat to produce a superb show to claim the bronze.

More medals are in store for India as Suhas Yathiraj and Krishna Nagar also sailed into the men's singles finals of SL4 class and SH6 class respectively.

On the other hand, 19-year-old Narwal, who holds the world record in the category, shot a total of 218.2, a Paralympic record, to claim the yellow metal in P4 Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 event in his debut Games.

His talent was spotted by coach Jai Prakash Nautiyal and Narwal won an individual gold in P1 Air Pistol SH1 event in the 2017 Bangkok World Cup.

The 39-year-old Adana, who had won the bronze in the P1 men's 10m air pistol SH1 event on Tuesday, added a silver to his kitty with an effort of 216.7 as India continued its medal rush in the sport.

With his feat, Adana joins the elite list of Indians who have won multiple medals in the same edition of the Games.