In Paris Paralympics 2024 IIT Graduate Who Won Gold For India
Nitesh Kumar from India clinched badminton gold at the Paris Paralympics in the men’s singles SL3 competition on Monday, September 2. Niteshdefeat Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell in a three-game thriller 21-14, 18-21, 23-21. The match saw a sensational competition from the top two seeds where they tried to battle the sideways drift on the La Chapelle Arena Court 1. Coming into the game, Nitesh had played 9 times against Bethell, but had never defeated him in his entire careet.
The gold of Niteshwas India’s ninth medal at the Paris Paralympics and the second gold medal of the event. Before Nitesh, shooter AvaniLekhara had won the gold medal. This was India’s first badminton medal at the Games and it came, courtesy of Nitesh’s incredible patience. His match against Bethell was characterised by long rallies in the first game. Nitesh beat Bethell in the first game 21-14, where the longest rally of the match was 122 shots. It took a total of 31 minutes for the first game to finish, which left both players tired and gasping for air.
Both changed their play styles to quick exchanges after that, where Nitesh held his nerve to clinch the gold medal. The Indian shuttler did not look flustered despite being put under pressure for Bethell. Nitesh brought out his strong smashes to force the errors out of the British player.