India won another gold medal at the Paris Paralympics after Nitesh Kumar’s victory in the badminton SL4 category on Monday. The shuttler from Haryana defeated Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell in a thrilling three-game match by 2-1 (21-14, 18-21, 22-21), . This is India’s first badminton medal at the Paris Paralympic Games.
Top-seeded Nitesh claimed the first game 21-14 but lost the second 18-21. The match went into a deciding game, where the Indian triumphed 23-21 over the second-seed British player.
This is the second gold medal for India at the ongoing Paris Paralympics. Earlier, para-shooter Avani Lekhara clinched gold with a world record score of 249.7 points in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event.
Finally, a gold for Nitesh Kumar
This is the first-ever Paralympic medal for Nitesh Kumar. He replicated his success from the Asian Para Games, where he won the gold medal in men’s singles. Nitesh has always fallen short of the gold in the World Championships. In Basel 2019 and the 2022 Tokyo World Championships, he won silver, and recently, in 2024 Pattaya, he won the bronze medal.
Medals Confirmed in SL4 and SU5 events
India is guaranteed at least a silver medal in the men’s singles SL4 and women’s singles SU5 categories. Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Suhas Yathiraj defeated Sukant Kadam in the men’s singles SL4 semi-final, and he will fight for gold tonight. Kadam will play for bronze. Meanwhile, Manisha Ramadass will face Thulasimathi Murugesan in the women’s SU5 semi-final.
