India shuttler Nitesh Kumar clinched the men’s singles SL3 gold medal at the ongoing Paris Paralympics after winning thrilling final match against Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell on Monday. Nitesh, on his Paralympics debut, won 21-14, 18-21, 23-21 in a contest that lasted 79 minutes.
With this, India’s tally has zoomed to 9 medals (2 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze).
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It was Nitesh who took 1-0 lead by winning the first game 21-14 rather comfortably in 31 minutes. The second game though turned out to be a close affair with Bethell forcing a decider by clinching it 21-18.
The decider was also a neck-and-neck affair with Bethell saving a match point before putting himself on the brink of winning the clash. However, Nitesh bounced back and eventually took the game and the gold.
“I still don’t feel it. May be when I go to the podium and the national anthem is played, it will sink in,” Nitesh said after the match.
Competing in the SL3 category, which is reserved for players with severe lower limb disabilities and requires to play on a half-width court, Nitesh’s journey to gold was anything but ordinary.
Facing an opponent who had beaten him nine times in the past, Nitesh, an IIT Mandi graduate, displayed immense mental fortitude as he recorded his first win over Bethell.
“I didn’t think it this way. Thoughts were coming into my mind how I will win. But I was not thinking about what I will do after I win, I pushed that feeling away,” he said.
The final was a test of endurance and skill, with both players engaging in excruciating rallies, including a nearly three-minute rally of 122 shots in the opening game.
Nitesh’s sharp reverse hits, delicate drop shots, and polished net play kept Bethell on his toes throughout the match.
The opening game saw Nitesh trailing 6-9 at one point, but his rock-solid defense allowed him to claw back, entering the break with a two-point cushion. He then surged ahead to an 18-14 lead, eventually sealing the game when Bethell sent the shuttle wide.
Nitesh could have won in straight games as he was leading 14-12 at one stage but Bethell staged a comeback, forcing the contest to a decider.
In the final game, the tension was palpable as the two athletes matched each other point for point, moving from 8-8 to 19-19. Nitesh had the first championship point at 20-19 but couldn’t convert it. Bethell, too, had a match point at 21-20 but faltered at the net. Finally, the Indian seized his opportunity, taking the match after Bethell hit long and wide.
“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.
“I usually don’t play with such patience and trust my strokes as they are deceptive but when I started in the first game here, I planned that I have to play well the first few points to get comfortable. Then I can play my strokes and I could see he was desperate. But due to the conditions, I didn’t try too many variations, just looked to play steady.”
Nitesh, who lost his left leg in a train accident in 2009, was the top-seed for the event and he stormed into the semi-finals winning all three of his Group A matches.
He started his campaign by beating compatriot Manoj Sarkar 2-1 (21-13, 18-21, 21-18) before brushing aside Chinese Yang Jianyuan 2-0 (21-5, 21-11) and Bunsun Mongkhon of Thailand 2-0 (21-13, 21-14) to cap off his group fixtures.
In the last-four stage, Nitesh took on Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara and entered the final with a dominating show. He won 21-16, 21-12.
With PTI Inputs
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