Defending champion and two-time Paralympics silver-medallist Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj made a triumphant start to his campaign at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya on Friday. The seasoned Indian star dispatched Bangladesh’s Joytu Dhar in straight games to assert his dominance in the opening men’s singles SL4 Group E encounter.
Suhas, who also serves as an IAS officer, comfortably controlled the proceedings from the outset to seal a 21-8, 21-11 victory. Several other Indian shuttlers matched his early success across various classifications, registering convincing wins to kickstart their respective tournament bids in commanding fashion.
Dominant Openers Across Categories
- Suhas LY defeated Joytu Dhar 21-8, 21-11 in the men’s singles SL4 Group E fixture.
- Krishna Nagar cruised past Chinese Taipei’s Jia-siang Ling 21-5, 21-4 in the men’s singles SH6 class.
- Abhijeet Sakhuja secured a 21-17, 21-12 win against En-chuan Yeh in the SL4 division.
- Manisha Ramdass and Pramod Bhagat overcame China’s Lichuan Xiong and Tongtong Li 21-16, 19-21, 21-16 in mixed doubles.
Mixed Fortunes in Early Group Matches
While the top seeds and seasoned campaigners largely lived up to expectations, the opening day also brought a few mixed results for the wider Indian contingent. Sivarajan Solaimalai notched up an easy win against the Philippines’ John Cyrus Maclang 21-7, 21-6 in the SH6 category. In the women’s singles SL3 group matches, Sanjana Kumari shone brightly by crushing Hong Kong’s Chai Saeyang 21-4, 21-6.
However, former world champion Manasi Joshi experienced a testing opening day on the court. Joshi fell short in a hard-fought women’s singles encounter against China’s Yuemei Liu, losing 15-21, 21-14, 15-21. She also suffered a defeat in the mixed doubles event alongside partner Ruthick Raghupati against the Indonesian pair of Khalimatus Sadiyah and Fredy Setiawan. The Indian squad will aim to bounce back and maintain momentum in the upcoming group fixtures as the continental multi-sport event progresses.
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