Nitesh Kumar clinched gold in what was a replay of the 2022 final against Pramod Bhagat at Hangzhou
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Pramod Bhagat (L) and Nitesh Kumar (R) pose after their Asian Para Games 2026 final(Photo: X)
Paris Paralympic gold medallist Nitesh Kumar buried the ghosts from the 2022 Asian Para Games and produced an inspirational performance to clinch a men’s singles SL3 badminton gold at the on-going edition of the quadrennial showpiece in the Japanese cities of Aichi and Nagoya.
Nitesh Kumar had to beat his fellow compatriot and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic gold medallist Pramod Bhagat in straight gamesThe two former Paralympic champions were expected to put up an even fight but Nitesh was a notch above as he claimed a hard fought 21-18 and 21-16 win at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium
In the previous Asian Para Games edition, Nitesh had to settle for a silver in the men’s singles event against the very same opponent he defeated in this edition, thus making it a replay of the 2022 finale.
After the win, Nitesh expressed his happiness and mentioned the loss he had endured in the 2022 games at HangzhouHe claimed that it was a very special moment for him and one of the rarest things that has happened in his career so far.
“Very happy to win the Asian Games gold medalLast time I was close, I was leading 19-16 in the third set, and then I lostSo this time, winning it and again winning in two sets against Pramod is, of course, very special, and I think it’s one of the rarest of the rare things to see,” Nitesh Kumar said after winning men’s SL3 badminton gold.
Nithya Sre and Thulasimathi Murugesan settle for silver
Elsewhere in badminton, women para-shuttlers Nithya Sre and Thulasimathi Murugesan settled for silver after going down in SH6 and SU5 finals.
Nithya crashed out of the tournament after losing to China’s Li Fengmei in the finale in straight games by 12-21 and 13-21Nithya had won three bronze medals in the previous edition across the singles, doubles and mixed doubles events.
Her compatriot from the SU5 category and Paris Paralympic silver medallist Thulasimathi Murugesan also endured a defeat in the finale against China’s Yang Qiuxia in straight games by 18-21 and 11-21.
Despite the loss, Murugesan still has the chance to win two gold medals at the Asian Para GamesHer first shot at gold will be in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 event where she will team up with Nitesh Kumar to lock horns with Indonesia’s Leani Ratri Oktila and Hikmat Ramdani.
Then, she will tag along with Manasi Joshi in women’s doubles SL3-SU5 final against the Chinese pair of Yang Qiuxia and Xiao Zuxian.
