Pramod Bhagat (right) and Palak Kohli in action during Tokyo Paralympics badminton mixed doubles bronze medal match in Tokyo on Sunday.
The Indian mixed doubles duo of Pramod Bhagat and Palak Kohli suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of Japan's Daisuke Fujihara and Akiko Sugino in their bronze-medal play-off match of the Paralympics here on Sunday.
The Indian duo lost 21-23 19-21 to their Japanese opponents in the SL3-SU5 class final that lasted 37 minutes to end their campaign at fourth place. They had earlier lost the semifinals 3-21 15-21 to the Indonesian combination of Hary Susanto and Leani Ratri Oktila.
The two pairs were neck-and-neck throughout the match. The Indians were 10-8 up in the first game but the Japanese came back strongly to level at 10-10. After that, the score-line read 14-14, 18-18 and then 20-20. The Indians were up 21-20 but then eventually lost 21-23.
In the second game also, the two pairs were on equal footing and 10-10 at the midway point before the Japanese surged ahead to win 21-19 and pocket the bronze. The 33-year-old Bhagat on Saturday claimed India's first badminton gold at the Paralympics in men's singles SL3 class.
It was 19-year-old Kohli's debut Paralympics.
In SL3 class, shuttlers with minor lower limb impairment play standing while players with upper limb impairment play standing in SL5.
