Our Bureau
Paris
In a historic moment for Indian sports, Nitesh Kumar clinched the country’s first-ever gold medal in para badminton at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. The 29-year-old IIT graduate defeated Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell in a thrilling three-game final of the men’s singles SL3 event.
Nitesh, seeded number one, displayed incredible patience and skill to prevail 21-14, 18-21, 23-21 in a match that lasted an hour and 20 minutes at the La Chapelle Arena Court 1. The victory marked India’s second gold of the ongoing Games, after shooter Avani Lekhara’s triumph earlier.
“I still don’t feel it. May be when I go to the podium and the national anthem is played, it will sink in,” Nitesh said after the match.
Nitesh’s tryst with badminton began during his days at IIT Mandi, where he got inspired by para-shuttler Pramod Bhagat. A train accident in 2009 had left him with a severe lower limb disability, but the determined youngster refused to let that deter his sporting ambitions.
In the final, Nitesh showcased his class right from the start, winning the first game comfortably. However, Bethell fought back strongly to level the match by taking the second game. The decider turned out to be a nerve-wracking affair, with both players giving their absolute best. At 21-21, Nitesh held his nerve to clinch the next two points and seal the gold medal.
“I have lost such situation against him, and I didn’t want to make the same mistakes. I had lost my calm in the past so I told myself that I should keep fighting for each point. At 19-20 in decider also I told myself to stick in there and make him earn the point,” Nitesh added.
Nitesh’s journey to the top has been a remarkable one. He began his competitive journey in 2016 at the nationals in Faridabad, where he secured a bronze medal. In 2017, he won the Irish Para-Badminton International and has since gone from strength to strength.
At the 2022 BWF Para Badminton World Championships, Nitesh won a silver medal. Earlier this year, he clinched bronze at the 2024 edition of the event. His triumph in Paris, however, is undoubtedly the crowning glory of his career so far.
With this win, Nitesh has not only etched his name in the history books but also given a major boost to the growth of para badminton in India. His success is sure to inspire a new generation of shuttlers to dream big and strive for excellence.
