Nitesh Kumar clinches gold in SL3 para-badminton, India’s second gold in Paris

Nitesh Kumar clinched his maiden gold medal at the Paris Paralympics 2024 after beating Great Britains Daniel Bethell in a thrilling mens singles SL3 badminton final here on MondayNitesh who discovered his passion in badminton at IITMandi added a second gold to Indias medal tally after shooter Avani Lekhra got his hands on the nations first gold at the Paris Paralympics 2024 with a sensational display in the womens 10m air rifle finalThis win ensured that India retained the SL3 gold after Pramod Bhagat clinched the title three years ago when para badminton made its debut in TokyoAnother historic moment for IndiaNitesh Kumar clinches Gold in mens singles SL3 parabadminton at the Paris Paralympics Proud of his determination and skill Paralympics2024 NiteshKumar Paris2024 Cheer4Bharat mansukhmandviya IndiaSports MIB_India PIB_Indiahellip pictwittercomOcoqP0qgrVmdash Doordarshan Sports ddsportschannel September 2 2024In a game that went right down the wire Nitest ousted Daniel with a 2114 1821 2321 win to claim his stake at the top of the podiumThe first set ensued between Nitesh and Daniel a closelyknit affair With both shuttles playing in a vertical halfcourt rallies were quite longerWith both shuttles going necktoneck Daniel enjoyed a slender lead with the scoreline reading at 45 Daniel stayed in front midway through the first set with an 1113 leadAs the game progressed Nitesh upped the ante in the second half of the first set to enforce his dominance over the Great Britain shuttler A flurry of points saw him edge Daniel and wrap up the first set with a 2114 leadAlso ReadYogesh Kathuniya bags silver medal in mens discus throw F56 eventIn the second set it was Nitesh who took a slender 54 lead Daniel tried to counterattack with inbody smashes But the Indian on several occasions effectively negated it away with his defensive prowessNitesh slowly extended his lead to three by luring Daniel into making informed errors He either went too long or placed the shuttle too short allowing Nitesh to stay in the leadDaniel retaliated by showcasing grit and display by winning three consecutive points to restore parity at 1414The second set went right down the wire with Nitesh taking a narrow onepoint lead and Daniel breathing right down the Indians neck by cutting short his leadThe Englishman shifted through gears and increased the intensity by mixing smash and drop shots effectively Heeventually took the lead with a wellplaced shot right at the line which Nitesh couldnt lift across the net His late surge saw him take two consecutive points to take the second set with an 1821 winThe shades of the first two sets were visible in the gold medal decider Once again it was a closely fought affair between the two shuttles But Nitesh managed to take a slim lead at the halfway mark with the scoreline reading 1110Daniel tried to adopt an aggressive approach and Nitesh replied with the same intensity to keep his onepoint lead intactBut unlike the previous set Nitesh raised the bar and raced to a fivepoint lead to take a step closer to the gold medalBut Daniel wasnt in the mood to let Nitesh get his hands on the gold medal so easily With precision he reduced Niteshs lead to just a pointHe couldnt follow it up and struck the net which allowed Nitesh to extend his lead to three points at 1916As Nitesh stood just two points away from the gold medal Daniel made the Indian dance to his tune and restored the parity at 1919Nitesh netted the shuttle leaving Daniel just one point away from the gold Nitesh made it 2121 with a drop shot which Daniel couldnt get enough height He thengot his hands on the coveted gold after Daniel placed the shuttle outside the court The crowd erupted with joy as Nitesh animatedly celebrated his winAfter settling the historic gold both shuttles shook hands and exchanged jerseys with each otherNitesh arrived in the final after defeating Japans Daisuke Fujihara in straight sets 2116 2112 in the semifinalsWith agency inputs