Suhas Yathiraj slipped past a blistering semi‑final in Nagoya, losing 23‑21, 8‑21, 15‑21 and settling for bronze.
The opening set was a chess match; Yathiraj had two game‑points at 22‑20 but couldn't convert, and the match slipped away after a 23‑21 loss. He bounced back to dominate the second set 21‑8, but a shaky start to the decider saw him lose focus and let a 15‑21 finish slip by.
"I had game‑points and set‑points in the first set and I just couldn't convert them," Yathiraj told TimesofIndia.com. “If I had played up to my full potential, I would have definitely done better.” He added that the pressure of a major tournament is the real test.
Yathiraj, 43, has been a mainstay of Indian para‑badminton for a decade. He won gold at the 2016 Asian Championships, silver at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, plus a gold at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games. The bronze in Nagoya is his latest accolade on the way to a coveted gold in Los Angeles 2028.
Next up, Yathiraj will gear up for the 2028 Paralympic qualifiers in Dubai, where he aims to turn the bronze‑mediated lessons into a gold‑winning performance.