India’s Kumar Nitesh won his first Paralympic gold medal on Monday, defeating Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell in a thrilling men’s singles SL3 badminton final. The 29-year-old from Haryana was rock strong in defence and dead on with his shot selections as he defeated Tokyo silver champion Bethell 21-14, 18-21, 23-21 in an enthralling hour and 20 minute match.
SL3 class players, such as Nitesh, compete with more severe lower limb infirmities, forcing them to play on a half-court.
Nitesh’s victory on Monday assured that India kept the SL3 gold medal, which Pramod Bhagat won three years ago when para badminton made its debut in Tokyo.
Nitesh Kumar once spent months bedridden, his hopes diminishing and his spirit devastated. Nitesh’s life took a fatal turn when he was 15 and lost his leg in a rail accident in Visakhapatnam in 2009.
Confined to a bed, sadness overwhelmed his head, and he fought to see a way forward.
“My childhood was a little unusual. I used to play football, but then an accident occurred. I had to give up athletics forever and focus on my schoolwork. But then athletics re-entered my life,” Nitesh recounted.
He discovered badminton while attending IIT-Mandi, and it became his refuge and source of strength. Nitesh began to reconstruct his life after being inspired by fellow para shuttler Pramod Bhagat’s humility and star batsman Virat Kohli’s unwavering determination.
“Pramod bhaiyya [Pramod Bhagat] has been my inspiration. “Not only is he skilled and experienced, but he is also humble as a human being,” he stated.
“I also admire Virat Kohli because the way he has converted himself into a fit athlete — like how he used to be before 2013 — and how he is now so fit and so disciplined.”
Nitesh, the son of a naval officer, had previously wanted to wear the uniform himself.
“I was passionate about uniforms. “I used to see my father in his uniform, and I wanted to be in sports or a defence job like the Army or Navy,” he explained.
But the accident dashed those hopes. However, a visit to the Artificial Limbs Centre in Pune changed Nitesh’s perspective. He witnessed military veterans who had lost limbs exceeding their boundaries at the Centre.
“I saw folks aged 40-45 playing football, cycling, and running on crutches. I convinced myself that if they can do it at that age, I can change my life,” he mused.
Nitesh made his debut at the 2016 Nationals in Faridabad, winning bronze for Haryana. The next year, he won silver in singles and bronze in doubles in Bengaluru, establishing himself in para-badminton.
His domestic success peaked at the 2020 Nationals, when he defeated Paralympic medallists Bhagat and Manoj Sarkar to claim gold.
Watching Bhagat win gold in Tokyo inspired Nitesh to dream of his own Paralympic triumph. That dream has finally come true.
