JAIPUR: Paralympic gold medallist Krishna Nagar defeated England’s Jack Shephard 21-18,21-16 to win the final of the 2023 Canada Para Badminton International which concluded in Ottawa.
This is Krishna’s first gold of the year in the singles event and has boosted his confidence going ahead as the race for booking a Paris Paralympics berth gets tougher.
“This was the sixth qualification tournament and five more are left. Going ahead, this win is very important for me as it has earned me the first gold of the year. Last year I missed out on a lot of action because of injuries and personal work. So this year is very crucial for me. I want to get back into the rhythm and qualify for next year’s Paralympics,” shared Jaipur shuttler Krishna, who plays in SH6 category.
In the semifinal match, he trounced Brazil’s Vitor Tavares 21-19, 15-21, 11-21. Moreover, Krishna bagged the second gold in doubles category where he collaborated with Sivarajan Solaimalai to defeat Canada’s Justin Kendrick and Wyatt Lightfoot 21-12, 21-9.
The para shuttler, currently holding 6th spot in the world rankings, lost his mother two years back and it has not been easy to cope with the loss for the family.
“I had to deal with a lot of issues after my mother passed away. She was a big support for me when I won the gold medal in Tokyo. I want to repeat the good work next year in Paris for her,” he added.
