Both Pramod Bhagat and Nitesh Kumar are former Paralympic champions who will now face each other for the Asian Para Games gold
Share Article
https://www.india.com/sports/others/asian-para-games-2026-pramod-bhagat-seals-finale-spot-and-sets-up-meeting-with-nitesh-kumar-in-mens-sl3-badminton-8538170/
File photo of Pramod Bhagat(Photo: X)
The Indian contingent were assured of a top-two podium finish in men’s singles SL3 Badminton, thanks to Pramod Bhagat’s sensational performance to see off Korea’s Lee Seunghu in a breathtaking three-game semifinal at the on-going Asian Games 2026 in the Japanese cities of Aichi and Nagoya.
Pramod Bhagat, who won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, will now face an opponent from his own contingent in the final and it’s none other than Nitesh Kumar who had returned with gold, silver and bronze medals from the previous Asian Games edition.
This is a massive development for the Indian contingent, who appear to be on a roll this year as they try to match the medal tally from the 2022 Asian Para Games at HangzhouIndia had returned with a record breaking 109 medals from the previous edition and this year, they have already won over 70.
How Pramod Bhagat and Nitesh Kumar reached the final?
Pramod Bhagat, 38 and a six-time world champion had to be at his absolute best to beat his opponent in the semi-finalBhagat showed his exceptional fitness levels and armed himself with a terrific temperament to survive a marathon 2-hour-and-9-minute long battle to beat Lee 16-21, 21-18, 21-17.
Similarly, Paris Paralympic champion Nitesh Kumar put himself in contention for two gold medals after reaching the finals of men’s singles SL3 and mixed doubles SL3-SU5, while Naveen Sivakumar advanced to the men’s singles SL4 final in what was an overall good outing for Indian para-shuttlers at the competition.
Nitesh Kumar had defeated Indonesia’s M Imran 21-19, 21-16 within 52 minutes for a spot in the final.
Earlier in the day, he teamed up with Thulasimathi Murugesan to see off the Chinese pair of Li Mingpin and Xiao Zuxian 21-19, 14-21, 21-17 in a thrilling semifinal that lasted 42 minutes at Ichinomiya City Municipal GymnasiumThe Indians also picked up five bronze medals in different events.
After reaching two finals on the same day, Nitesh Kumar was buzzing as he spoke about how things went for him on Thursday“I was playing two semifinals today, pulling out both of them, playing two finals tomorrow, both of them being the Paralympics eventsSo, yeah, very happy,” Nitesh said.
“Stroke-wise, I have the upper handHe doesn’t have a lot of variations… I got a little nervy at the end of the first setI think I got casual…but then happy to have the lead after the break in the second set and then pulling off the game,” Nitesh added.
Updated Asian Para Games 2026 medal tally
(With PTI inputs)
