Tokyo: India’s mixed team pair of Pramod Bhagat and Palak Kohli went down fighting against second seeds Lucas Mazur and Faustine Noel in the group B opener of the badminton event at the Tokyo Paralympics on Wednesday.
Bhagat and Kohli, competing in SL3-SU5 class, went down 9-21 21-15 19-21 against the French team in 43 minutes at the Yoyogi national stadium. The Indian pair found the going tough initially as it lagged 5-11 at the interval. Things didn’t change much after the breather as the French duo zoomed ahead and quickly pocketed the opening game.
In the second game, the Indian duo gave a better account of themselves as they fought tooth and nail and earned a slender two-point lead at 13-11.
Mazur and Noel grabbed a point but the Indian pair reeled off seven straight points to reach the game points.