Paralympic Games 2024: Indian shuttler Nitesh Kumar outclassed Britain’s second seed Daniel Bethell to clinch a gold medal in the men’s singles SL3 category at the ongoing Paralympic Games on Monday. Nitesh, who discovered his passion for badminton at IIT-Mandi, added a second gold to India’s medal tally after shuttler Avani Lekhra bagged the nation’s first gold at the Paris Paralympics.
Paralympic Games with a sensational display in the women’s 10m air rifle final. In a match that came down to the wire, Nitest ousted Daniel with a 21-14, 18-21, 23-21 victory to claim her place at the top of the podium.
The first set was played between Nitesh and Daniel, a very close duel. Both players played on a vertical half-court, so the exchanges were considerably longer. With both players tied, Daniel enjoyed a slight advantage with the score 4-5. Daniel remained ahead until the middle of the first set with a lead of 11-13.
As the match progressed, Nitesh upped the ante in the second half of the first set to impose his dominance over the British player. A series of points allowed him to outscore Daniel and close out the first set with a 21-14 lead.
In the second set, Nitesh took a 5-4 lead. Daniel tried to counterattack with body shots, but the Indian, on several occasions, effectively thwarted him thanks to his defensive prowess.
Nitesh slowly extended his lead to three points by baiting Daniel into well-thought-out mistakes. He either set the wheel too long or too short, allowing Nitesh to stay in the lead.
Daniel retaliated with courage and display by winning three consecutive points to restore parity at 14-14.
The second set was a closely contested affair, with Nitesh taking a narrow one-point lead and Daniel hot on the Indian’s heels by narrowing his advantage.
Daniel shifted gears and increased the intensity by mixing smash and drop shots effectively.
Daniel finally took the lead with a well-placed shot right on the line, which Nitesh was unable to lift. His final attack allowed him to win two consecutive points to take the second set with an 18-21 victory.
The nuances of the first two sets became visible in the gold medal decider. Once again, it was a closely contested encounter between the two teams. But Nitesh managed to take a small lead midway through the match, with the score at 11-10.
Daniel tried to take an aggressive approach and Nitesh responded with equal intensity to keep his one-point lead intact.
But unlike the previous set, Nitesh raised the bar and took a five-point lead to move one step closer to the gold medal.
But Daniel was in no mood to let Nitesh get the gold medal so easily. With precision, he reduced Nitesh’s lead to just one point.
He was unable to follow through with the shot and it hit the net, allowing Nitesh to extend his lead to three points at 19-16. When Nitesh was just two points away from the gold medal, Daniel made the Indian dance to his tune and restored parity at 19-19.
Nitesh scored the first point with the shuttlecock into the net, leaving Daniel one point away from the gold. Nitesh made it 21-21 with a drop shot that Daniel couldn’t reach high enough. Nitesh managed to clinch the coveted gold after Daniel placed the shuttlecock out of the court. The crowd erupted in joy as Nitesh excitedly celebrated his victory.
After winning the historic gold, both players shook hands and exchanged shirts. Nitesh reached the final after defeating Japanese Daisuke Fujihara in the semi-finals in straight sets by 21-16 and 21-12.
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