Nitesh Kumar fought hard for an hour and 20 minutes to win India’s second gold medal at the ongoing Games after beating Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell 2-1 in the Men’s Singles SL3 final at the La Chapelle Arena Court 1 in Paris on Monday.
This was also Nitesh’s first win over the Brit in 10 meetings between the two para-shuttlers. Patience was of key for the Indian as long rallies ruled the roost in the first game. Nitesh clinched it 21-14, only to concede the second game 18-21.
With both shuttlers eyeing glory, the last game went to deuce. Ultimately, it was Nitesh who clinched the gold on his debut at the Games.
To reach the the summit match, he defeated Daisuke Fujihara of Japan in straight sets (21-16, 21-12) in the men’s singles SL3 semifinals.
Born in Rajasthan, Nitesh is an IIT graduate and currently lives in Haryana. A train accident in 2009 had him lose his leg and left him bed-ridden for months.
His tryst with the sport began during his days at IIT Mandi, when he got inspired by the para-shuttler Pramod Bhagat. Interestingly, Nitesh got to share the podium in this year’s BWF Para-World Championships with Bhagat, as the former clinched bronze and the latter took gold.
It was Bethell who Nitesh downed in that bronze medal match at the Worlds.
SL3 class players, like Nitesh, have severe lower limb disabilities and play on a half-width court, making them hit the shuttle on only one side of the playing field.
Nitesh began his competitive journey in 2016 at the nationals in Faridabad, where he secured a bronze medal. In 2017, he was the winner of the Irish Para-Badminton International.
At the BWF Para Badminton World Championships 2022, he won a silver medal after beating his idol Bhagat.
Nitesh continued his rich vein of form, entering the Paris Games with multiple Worlds medals and three medals at last year’s Para Asian Games in Hangzhou. These included a gold in men’s doubles, silver in singles, and a bronze in mixed doubles.
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