Para badminton player Kumar Nitesh wins maiden Paralympic gold

Paris, Sep 2 (PTI) India’s Kumar Nitesh clinched his maiden gold medal at the Paralympics after beating Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell in a thrilling men’s singles SL3 badminton final here on Monday.

The 29-year-old from Haryana was rock solid in his defence and spot on with his shot selections as he beat Tokyo silver medallist Bethell 21-14 18-21 23-21 in an absorbing contest that lasted an hour and 20 minutes.

SL3 class players, like Nitesh, compete with more severe lower limb disabilities, requiring them to play on a half-width court.

When he was 15, Nitesh had lost his left leg in a train accident in Visakhapatnam in 2009 but he recovered from the trauma and found his calling in para badminton.

Nitesh’s victory on Monday ensured that India retained the SL3 gold after Pramod Bhagat clinched the title three years ago when para badminton made its debut in Tokyo.