When Nitesh Kumar, an aspiring footballer, fell out of a moving train in 2009, his world crashed upside down. Left bedridden for months, the accident left a scar on him as it led to permanent damage to his left leg, and he had to get a prosthetic leg. Despite the setback, his interest in sports remained intact, and it was during his time at IIT-Mandi, where he studied Electrical Engineering from 2013, he found his calling to badminton.

On Monday, Nitesh won India a second gold medal at the Paris Paralympics, as the shuttler defeated Daniel Bethell of Great Britain in a three-game thriller in the men’s singles SL3 final. This was India’s ninth overall medal in Paris, and the first badminton medal at the Games.

Kumar’s para-badminton career began in 2016 when he earned a spot in the Haryana team to participate in the Para National Championships, and instantly showed his class by winning a bronze medal. He continued to shine in the domestic circuit and reached his peak at the 2020 Nationals when he defeated Pramod Bhagat and Manoj Sarkar to win gold. Bhagat would go on to win a gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics the following year.

Beyond the domestic success, Nitesh also showcased his talent on the international stage when he won the Irish Para-Badminton International in 2017 and went on to win several titles and medals in various international competitions. He clinched three Asian Para Games medals last year – gold in men’s doubles, silver in men’s singles and bronze in mixed doubles. At the 2018 Asian Para Games, he sealed a bronze in men’s doubles. He’s also a three-time World Championship medallist (two silver and a bronze).

With Bhagat suspended from Paris 2024 because of whereabouts failures, Nitesh, who leads the world rankings, managed to live up to the billing by topping the podium on Monday.

It was the battle of the finest, as the two top seeds clashed for the gold medal — in the end, the highest-seeded 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.

This is India’s third Paralympic medal in badminton; incidentally, all of India’s badminton medals at the Paralympics have been gold. In the 2020 Tokyo Games, Pramod Bhagat (SL3) and Krishna Nagar (SH6) clinched top podiums.

SL3 is a classification for players who have moderate mobility challenges on one side of their body, both legs, or due to limb absence. These athletes compete standing on a half-width court, where their movement may be limited, but they still possess a full range of shot-making abilities.

The 29-year-old, who hails from Charkhi Dadri, Haryana, currently works as a Senior Badminton Coach for the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs in Haryana.