Day five of the ongoing Paris Paralympics 2024 fetched another gold medal for India. Para shuttler Nitesh Kumar bagged his first gold medal after beating Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell 21-14, 18-21, 23-21 in the medal match of the men’s singles SL3 class. In the process, he ticked India’s medal tally along to nine. Earlier, Yogesh Kathuniya clinched silver in men’s discus throw F56 final.
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.