Tokyo Paralympics: Shuttler Krishna Nagar wins 5th gold for India, medal tally rises to 19

India won its 19th medal in the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics 2020 as para-shuttler Krishna Nagar struck a solid gold in the Men's Singles SH6 event final with an emphatic win over Hong Kong's Chu Man Kai in three sets on Sunday.

Meanwhile, this is India's fifth gold medal in the ongoing edition of the Paralympic Games.

Tokyo Paralympics 2020: Krishna Nagar vs Chu Man Kai

Both the competitors went neck-to-neck in the first game with a 5-5 scoreline and then 10-10 and even though the duo was evenly matched as the contest progressed, it was Krishna Nagar who broke the deadlock to win the first game 21-17.

In the second game, Krishna Nagar took an early two-point lead before Chu Man Kai added the first points to his tally and he did it in style as the duo was tied at 4-4 in no time and suddenly, Nagar had a two-point deficit when the score read 6-8. The Indian shuttler played a catchup game from thereon, as his Hong Kong counterpart staged a brilliant comeback to win the second game 21-16 and take the gold medal match into the decider.

In the third and final set, it was Krishna Nagar who dominated the proceedings by adding points to his tally early on as he raced his way to a 5-1 lead before Chu Man Kai made a comeback to stay in contention for the gold medal when Krishna appeared to be cruising towards an easy win with a five-point lead. In the end, Krishna held his nerves and clinched the elusive gold medal 21-16.

Tokyo Paralympics 2020: Krishna Nagar's road to the gold medal match

On Saturday, second seed Krishna Nagar had reached the final after getting the better of  England's Krysten Coombs. Competing in the SH6 category the para shuttler defeated his British opponent 21-10, 21-11.

Krishna Nagar had put Krystan Coombs under pressure right from the word 'Go' and never allowed his opponent to find his feet in the contest. The India para shuttler had taken a very comfortable lead in the opening game at the midway point and never looked back as he won the first game 21-10. The second game was no different as Krishna Nagar used all parts of the court effectively and toiled with his opponent. By the virtue of this win, not only did he successfully qualify for the gold medal match but also assured India of yet another medal in the ongoing edition of the Paralympic Games.

On Saturday, Pramod Bhagat had clinched India's first gold in badminton when he emerged triumphant against Great Britain's Daniel Bethell in the  Men's Singles Class SL3 final.