Paris Paralympics 2024: Krishna Nagar retires mid-game against Thailand’s Natthapong Meechai, fails to defend title 

India’s Krishna Nagar failed to defend his men’s singles SH6 Paralympic title at after retiring mid-game against Thailand’s Natthapong Meechai during his final group stage match at the Paris Paralympics 2024 on Saturday.

Nagar, who was seeded third, was trailing 20-22, 3-11 against the Thai para shuttler when he decided to retire from the match. The 25-year-old Indian had previously lost his opening group stage match to the USA’s Miles Krajewski 16-21, 18-21.

To advance to the semifinals, Nagar needed to win his final group stage match against Meechai in straight games. However, with the defeat against Krajewski and the challenging position against Meechai, his chances of progressing were compromised. Retiring from the game effectively ended his hopes of making it to the next round of the competition.

In 2021, Nagar had previously made history by becoming India’s second gold medallist in badminton at the Paralympics. He achieved this feat at the Tokyo Games, where he defeated Hong Kong’s Chu Man Kai with scores of 21-17, 16-21, 21-17.