Nitesh Kumar won a medal on Paralympics debut. (Image: X)
With claims suggesting that athletes were unhappy with BAI’s response and interest on Para-Badminton Responsibilities, India’s Paralympics 2024, gold-medalist, Nitesh Kumar has slammed the Badminton Association of India and called for para-badminton to be handed off to the PCI.
India’s gold-medal-winning shuttler at the recently concluded Paris Paralympic Games 2024, Nitesh Kumar has slammed the Badminton Association of India (BAI) via social media. The Paralympian replied to a BAI’s post on social media he asked both BAI and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to hand over the sport to the Paralympics Committee of India (PCI).
Irrespective of the social media appreciation from @BAI_Media (which is very rare),we the athletes are highly dissatisfied with the response & the interest from BAI regarding Para badminton responsibilities, we sincerely request BAI & @Media_SAI to handover para badminton to PCI https://t.co/IeiGcagD8Q— Nitesh kumar (@niteshnk11) September 10, 2024
Nitesh on his post wrote, “Irrespective of the social media appreciation from BAI (which is very rare), – we the athletes are highly dissatisfied with the response & the interest from BAI regarding Para badminton responsibilities, we sincerely request BAI & to handover para badminton to PCI”.
Nitesh brought in India’s second gold medal at the Paris Paralympics where the 29-year-old shuttler managed to become the third para-athlete to win a medal in the Men’s Singles SL3. A point to note is that he managed to secure gold, without losing a single match as well.
The para-badminton star claimed gold by beating Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell 2-0 in straight games with a score of 21-14, 18-21 and 23-21 respectively.
According to the post Nitesh claims that the para-athletes are not pleased with BAI’s response and interest with regards to responsibilities. The specifics of the matter remain unclear at this point in time.
On social media, he also tagged the Sports Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, Arunachal Pradesh MP, Kiren Rijiju and the Union Minister for State and Sports, Raksha Khadse as well to ensure the matter gets amplified.
Nitesh Kumar is also an IIT graduate who was involved in an accident back in 2009 which resulted in permanent leg damage. Keeping his love for sports at heart, he discovered his passion for badminton and looked to work on his skills by taking on able-bodied individuals.
READ MORE: Germany Concede Goal After 99 Seconds, Fight Back to Secure 2-2 Draw vs Netherlands
Now it remains to be seen why Nitesh has taken such a step and whether he would reveal the matter regarding which the BAI has failed to live up to expectations.
Read More: Paralympics Gold Medallist Nitesh Kumar Slams BAI, Wants Para Badminton to be Handed Over to
