 "Nitesh Kumar, IIT Mandi graduate, goes from passion for football to badminton gold at Paralympics")
Nitesh Kumar’s sports journey began with a passion for football during his childhood days. However, a train accident in Visakhapatnam left him bedridden for months and resulted in permanent leg damage. Despite this, his interest in sports remained, particularly during his time at IIT-Mandi, where he studied Electrical Engineering and developed a keen interest in badminton.
Paris Paralympics 2024: News | Medal Tally | India Schedule
He kept building on his skills along with studies and made his debut at the 2016 Nationals in Faridabad, winning a bronze medal while representing Haryana.
The following year, he clinched silver in singles and bronze in doubles at Bengaluru, establishing himself in para-badminton.
His domestic success peaked at the 2020 Nationals, where he defeated Pramod Bhagat and Manoj Sarkar to win gold. Bhagat would go on to win a gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics the following year.
Beyond national accolades, Nitesh also showcased his prowess on the international stage, accumulating numerous medals in various tournaments. He clinched three Asian Para Games medals last year - gold in men’s doubles, silver in men’s singles and bronze in mixed doubles. At the 2018 Asian Para Games, he sealed a bronze in men’s doubles. He’s also a three-time World Championship medallist (two silver and a bronze).
With Bhagat suspended from Paris 2024 owing to whereabouts failures, the responsibility of winning a medal fell on Nitesh and the World No. 1 did that with aplomb.
Nitesh clinched his maiden gold medal at the Paralympics after beating Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell in a thrilling men’s singles SL3 badminton final on Monday (September 2).
The 29-year-old, who hails from Charkhi Dadri, Haryana, was rock solid in his defence and spot on with his shot selections as he beat Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Bethell 21-14, 18-21, 23-21 in an absorbing contest that lasted an hour and 20 minutes.
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