Nitesh Kumar had never won a major singles gold medal before. Nor had he ever beaten Daniel Bethell before, in nine meetings. He ended both those streaks with a splendid performance in the gold medal match of the SL3 singles para-badminton category at the Paris Paralympics.
The 29-year-old became the Paralympic champion on debut, after a gritty 21-14, 18-21, 23-21 win in an all-time classic final.
PARALYMPICS 2024 KEY DATES | EVERY MEDAL WON BY INDIA AT THE PARALYMPICS | PARALYMPIC CLASSIFICATIONS EXPLAINED
The clash of the top two seeds lived up to its billing from the start as both players kept things tight with neither giving away a lead, a pattern that went down to the wire as the final finished in extra time. Paralympic debutant Nitesh - who lost his leg in a train accident in 2009 when he was 15 - was nerveless by design against the Tokyo silver medallist, even when his prosthetic leg needed to be affixed mid-match, and it made all the difference in the end.
The SL3 category is for players with severe lower limb disabilities and hence only half the badminton court is used for the play. This usually makes for longer rallies in the discipline and players' racquet skills as well as the crafting of points make a big difference. The margins are often small and this final was a test of skill and concentration in which the top seed prevailed with a commendable display of mental composure and physical defence.
Against an opponent who has troubled him often in the past, Nitesh was remarkably calm in testing rallies and nervy points, regrouping after narrowly missing the second game and then staying strong in his own style of play to clinch the final in extra time - squandering and then saving a gold medal point in the process.
The key was his mental fortitude, learning from his mistakes in the past. "I have lost such situation against him and I didn't want to make the same mistakes. I had lost my calm in the past so I told myself that I should keep fighting for each point. At 19-20 in decider also I told myself to stick in there and make him earn the point," Nitesh said after.
That ������������ moment! ��
Watch Nitesh Kumar's gold-medal-winning shot from the grueling 80-minute FINAL at the #ParalympicGamesParis2024.#ParalympicsOnJioCinema #JioCinemaSports #Paris2024 #Badminton pic.twitter.com/9pWlAhMEDq
- JioCinema (@JioCinema) September 2, 2024
Nitesh, who focussed on academics after the accident and loss of his leg, picked up para badminton at an IIT (Indian Institute of Technology - the top engineering colleges in India). Balancing sports with studies, when dealing with a prosthetic leg couldn't have been easy. He had to miss out on a World Championship because of college and he then took a break from his studies to compete at the 2018 Para Asian Games. The tough calls have all led to this moment, when the spirit of a champion shone through in the challenging final.
There was no real momentum in the first game as both players exchanged serves before Nitesh took a slender interval lead on the back of a dogged defence that frustrated his opponent. The Indian then played an excellent second half to make Bethell drop his first game of the Paris Paralympics. The 29-year-old stayed in the points and then took charge of them using subtle, smart variations to unsettle his opponent.
The second game was a lot more dynamic with both opting to mix things up over the rallying of the first game. Bethell played lower to force errors from Nitesh closer into the net - a bit of a physical disadvantage for the Indian with a prosthetic leg.
But he held in to go into the interval with an 11-8 lead, the points much quicker with the Brit committing errors while trying to make things happen while Nitesh played a compact game. Just when it looked like the Indian would win the gold in straight games, Bethell upped the aggression. He forced a decider by sheer will, finding some last reserve of aggression and technique to win the final few points by a calculated attack that Nitesh couldn't counter.
The challenge for Nitesh was to regroup mentally, which he did, as he dealt with Bethell's attack with steady defence and some creative work of his own. The final went down to the wire, with a nervy end but the Indian crossed the finish line when Bethell was forced into errors.
Until today, Nitesh Kumar had never won a major singles gold medal in his career.
He's now won India's first badminton gold medal of the Paris Paralympics ��
LIVE: https://t.co/6MSwC2Tpw4 | #Paris2024 | #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/LsPJiejVt8
- ESPN India (@ESPNIndia) September 2, 2024
When the final shuttle floated out, there was a loud celebration from Nitesh as he let out a roar towards his coaches. He did the thigh slap, threw a t-shirt into the crowd and took a small victory lap to acknowledge the crowd. There was a touching moment when both players exchanged shirts after the contest - signifying what a close battle this final was.
At the end of it, one man was standing and it was Nitesh who retained the SL3 gold medal for India after Pramod Bhagat's win in Tokyo. Bhagat, who has handed both Bethell and Nitesh most of their big losses, is missing in action after a doping whereabouts clause violation. But there was an Indian on the podium again. His name? Nitesh Kumar.