Karnal’s badminton coach strike gold in Paris Paralympics

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

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.

Nitesh Kumar (Sourced)

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.