Nagoya: Thulasimathi Murugesan and Nitesh Kumar defeated China's Li Mingpan and Xiao Zuxian in three games to enter the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 final, while two Indian pairs signed off with bronze medals in the badminton competition at the Asian Para Games here on Thursday.
Thulasimathi and Nitesh combined to outwit the Chinese pair 21-19, 14-21, 21-17 in a thrilling semifinal that lasted 42 minutes at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.
"We are very happy. It's just that we have to focus on our next game," Thulasimathi said after the match.
Nitesh said: "We have played most of the players a lot of times, so we knew what our strengths were and how we had to play against each opponent. We got a little distracted in between and started making a few errors, but it was good that we got our rhythm back at the start of the third set.
"So, when we shifted sides, we had a good lead. That gave us a little extra confidence going into the crucial phase of the match."
It could have been an all-Indian summit clash, but Manisha Ramdass and Pramod Bhagat went down 21-16, 13-21, 17-21 to Indonesia's Leani Ratri Oktila and Hikmat Ramdani to sign off with a bronze.
"We are feeling bad because it was a really close match and we had a chance. We performed well, and we were almost there. But I am really proud of the way he pushed today, and I am proud of myself as well for giving my all. But something went wrong, and we made some errors. Hopefully, we will be back for our singles matches," Manisha said.
Pramod said: "After winning the first set, they didn't give us an opportunity to play. They played really cleverly and established a lead. We tried to close the gap, but the second set slipped away.
"We had a lead in the third set. They are two-time Olympic gold medallists, and we also lost some confidence. We played well in the first set, but we made minor errors towards the end, so we lost the final set."
Thulasimathi and Nitesh will thus face Leani and Hikmat in the gold-medal match.
India's Krishna Nagar and Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan also signed off with a bronze after losing to Indonesia's Rina Marlina and Subhan 14-21, 18-21 in the mixed doubles SH6 semifinal.
"We could have won this set. We made some judgment errors in the first set, and in the second set, there was just a one- or two-point difference. We made mistakes while trying for quick points. We need to improve our game. We had a good chance," Krishna said.
"We should have kept them engaged in longer rallies and made them tired, but they didn't give us many chances. We got some benefit in the second set, but unfortunately, we couldn't win it."
Krishna won a silver medal in the men's doubles event as well.
"My campaign has been okay. My goal was to play in the singles final, but I couldn't. I lost in the quarterfinals. I faced good players as I was seeded. I lost in the third set, so there were mistakes. But I have worked on my endurance and game speed.
"But I hope for the best. Next, we have the LA Paralympics, and before that, we have the world championships, so I will look to do well."
Thulasimathi is also in contention for gold in the women's doubles SL3-SU5 event. She and Manasi Joshi will face China's Yang Qiuxia and Xiao Zuxian in the gold-medal match on Friday.
Nitesh will face Indonesia's Muh Al Imran in the men's singles SL3 semifinal.
In para badminton, SL3 is for players with significant lower-limb impairments who compete on a half court, while SU5 is for players with upper-limb impairments.
The SL3-SU5 event pairs athletes from the two classifications.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
