India’s top player in the shuttler On Monday, September 2, Nitesh Kumar overcame Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell to win the gold medal in the Paris Paralympic Games 2024. The 29-year-old captured India’s second gold medal at the Paris Games after winning the suspenseful match 21-14, 18-21, 23-21.
Prior to this gold medal match, Nitesh’s head-to-head record versus Bethell was 0–9.
In the semi-finals, the top-seeded Indian shuttler defeated Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara in straight games, earning him a medal. In a 48-minute last-four match, 29-year-old Nitesh, who endured chronic limb impairment from a 2009 accident, showed off his supremacy by defeating Fujihara 21-16, 21-12.
Thus, the alumnus of IIT Mandi made sure that India returned with a medal in the SL3 category, following in the footsteps of Pramod Bhagat, who won the gold in Tokyo three years ago when para badminton made its debut.
