Who is Nitesh Kumar? Para-badminton player wins second gold for India at Paris Games

Nitesh Kumar clinched the gold medal in men’s singles SL3 category in the Paralympic badminton event at the Paris Paralympics with a 21-14, 18-21, 23-21 victory in the final against Daniel Bethell on Monday. This is the second time that an Indian para athlete has finished on the top of the podium in the ongoing edition of the quadrennial event, after shooter Avani Lakhera bagged a second consecutive gold at the Paralympics earlier this week.

Nitesh’s life took a tragic turn when he was 15, when he lost his leg in a train accident in Visakhapatnam in 2009.

Confined to a bed, despair consumed his mind and he struggled to find a way forward.

Read also: High jumper Nishad Kumar takes silver in T47 category at Paris Paralympics

“My childhood was a little different. I used to play football and then the accident happened. I had to give up the sport for good and take up studies. But then sport came back into my life,” recalls Nitesh, who reached the SL3 badminton final with a convincing two-game win over Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara.

He discovered badminton during his stint at IIT-Mandi, and the sport became his sanctuary and source of strength. Inspired by the humility of his fellow cricketer Pramod Bhagat and the tireless dedication of star cricketer Virat Kohli, Nitesh began to rebuild his life.

“Pramod bhaiyya [Pramod Bhagat] “He has been an inspiration, not only because of how skilled and experienced he is, but also because of how humble he is as a human being,” he said.

“I also admire Virat Kohli for the way he has become a fit athlete, like he was before 2013, and how he is now so fit and disciplined.” The son of a naval officer, Nitesh once aspired to don the uniform.

“I loved uniforms. I used to watch my father in his and I wanted to go into sports or a job in defence, like the Army or the Navy,” he said.

But the accident shattered those dreams. A visit to the Pune Artificial Limb Centre gave Nitesh a new perspective. He saw war veterans who had lost limbs putting their skills to the test at the Centre.

“I saw people aged 40 or 45 playing football, riding bikes and running on crutches. I told myself that if they could do that at that age, I could change my life,” he reflects.

Nitesh made his debut at the 2016 National Championships in Faridabad, where he won bronze representing Haryana. The following year, he won silver in singles and bronze in doubles in Bengaluru, establishing himself in adaptive badminton.

His domestic success peaked at the 2020 Nationals, where he defeated Paralympic medallists Bhagat and Manoj Sarkar to win gold.

Watching Bhagat win gold in Tokyo, Nitesh began to dream of his own Paralympic success. Now, that dream is within his reach.

“I’ve been playing consistently, so I was confident that I would make it to the final. It’s an amazing feeling to have done it, especially after losing in mixed doubles. I didn’t let that affect me,” she said.

(With PTI inputs)



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