Celebrations erupted at Karnal’s Karan stadium as their badminton coach Nitesh Kumar won second gold for India at the Paris Paralympics after securing a victory in badminton in the men’s singles SL3 final on Monday.
He defeated Daniel Bethell of Great Britain in a three-game thriller. It was the battle of the finest, as the two top seeds clashed for the gold medal.
In the end, the 29-year-old Nitesh prevailed, beating Bethell 21-14, 18-21, 23-21 in a clash that lasted an hour and 20 minutes to win his first Paralympic medal.
The shuttler, a native of Charkhi Dadri, has been a senior coach at the stadium since 2018, deputy director and Bheem awardee Rakesh Pandey said.
Pandey discribed him as a hard-working sportsman, who used to start training the aspiring shuttlers as early as 4 am.
“While studying at IIT Mandi, he used to travel overnight in a bus to the stadium for practice and provide training to his students over the weekend and then back again. His day and night dedication for the sports is a motivation for the students here,” he added.
In 2009, he suffered a permanent leg damage during an accident.
{{/usCountry}}In 2009, he suffered a permanent leg damage during an accident.
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