Paris Soir - Croissant 'treat' driving India's Yathiraj at Paralympics badminton

Yathiraj, who has an ankle impairment impacting on his mobility, reached Sunday's semi-finals by beating South Korea's Shin Kyung-hwan in two sets at Paris' La Chapelle Arena before a potential gold medal match on Monday.

"Right now I'm having really healthy food, all the muesli, fruit, a low-carb diet, high in protein," Yathiraj told AFP.

"I promised myself if I'm going to secure the gold medal in Paris I'm going to have a butter croissant.

"I haven't had one for quite some time because I cannot afford to have it during a tournament.

"Hopefully after the finals I'm going to treat myself to a butter croissant," the 41-year-old shuttler added.

Yathiraj grew up in cricket-mad India, idolising former captain and national icon Sachin Tendulkar.

"He's an all-time favourite of mine," Yathiraj said.

"I remember him saying he always knew exactly how he got out, he has always trained very hard and has achieved the greatest heights in that sport.

"That's the way to do it, believe in yourself," he added.

Yathiraj's path to Paris started in Tokyo, three years ago after he narrowly missed out on gold to Frenchman Lucas Mazur, before going on to claim two titles in three years.

"The reason I continued playing badminton after Tokyo was because I did not win gold," Yathiraj said.

"After that I've been able to win gold at Asian Para Games and the world championship.

"I don't want to look too much ahead.

"I have to focus on the semi-finals, if I do well there then I'll play one match point at a time and then destiny will take care of itself," he said.

- 'Healthy rivalry' -

Yathiraj came into the Games on a high, having moved to the top of the rankings after winning the world championships in February.

"I didn't want to think about that because I have seen in the past if you think too much about world number one, or think about the grandeur of the Paralympics, it only adds to the pressure," he said.

"The reason I've reached so far is because I'm not taking myself too seriously.

"I just wanted to play how I've been playing all along. But still the moment gets to you sometimes.

"You have to hold your nerves, believe in yourself, believe in your strokes," he added.

Yathiraj's main rival for gold and the cherished baked good early next week could once again be 26-year-old Mazur, who is playing in front of boisterous home support, after they also met in February's world championship decider.

"I would consider that the home crowd are considering him as favourite," Yathiraj said.

"I would like to use that to my advantage.

"I have lost to him, I have beaten him, many times.

"We have a healthy rivalry and I wish him all the best on a personal level.

"At a sporting level I think these are the rivalries we cherish as sportsmen and hopefully the crowd will also cherish it," he added.

G.Perrin--PS