All posts tagged: Para-badminton

Coaches that transformed Indian Para-Sports

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Every time Nitesh Kumar missed a point during this epic gold medal match against Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell at the Paris Paralympics, he turned to his coaches seated courtside. After receiving a quick word of assurance, he turned around and went about his business. The impact of a coach in competitive sport is paramount. And this was visible in ample measure at every event during the ongoing Paralympics. As the Indian athletes hit their strides and reaped a record-breaking haul of medals, their coaches stood on the sidelines, offering advise and cheering them every step of the way. On this Teacher’s Day, a day that honours the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, it’s only appropriate that we recognise the work of coaches that have transformed the para-athletics landscape in the country. R.D Singh As a kid growing up in school, Singh excelled in multiple sports and won accolades in track and field, weightlifting and volleyball. It was during his stint as a Physical Education Director at a college that he began coaching. Over 500-athletes …

India make history at Paris Paralympics with 20 medals as they go past Tokyo 2020’s medals haul | Sport-others News

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The Indian contingent at Paris Paralympics surged past the record medal haul of 19 medals it had set at the Tokyo Paralympics three years back. In the space of half an hour early on Wednesday, the para athletics contingent won four medals to push the Indian medals tally to 20. Of these 20 medals, India have won three golds, seven silvers and 10 bronze medals. Half of these 20 medals came from para athletics, while para badminton fetched India five medals. There were also medals in shooting (four) and archery (one). On Wednesday, in the men’s javelin throw F46 final, India claimed two medals courtesy Ajeet Singh, who won a silver medal with personal best throw of 65.62m, while Sundar Singh Gurjar claimed a bronze medal with season best throw of 64.96m. This helped India achieve its first double podium finish in athletics at Paris Paralympics. Then, in the men’s high jump T63 final, there were two Indians on the podium once again. Sharad Kumar (T42) claimed silver with the best jump of 1.88m which …

Medal galore, heartbreaks and other highlights from Day 5

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The fifth day of the 2024 Paralympics proved to be the best day for the Indian contingent with a total of seven medals across three sports. India won a total of one gold medal, three silver, and three bronze to jump to the 15th place in the medals tally with a total of 14 medals. Sumit Antil broke the Paralympic record twice to defend his title in the men’s javelin throw F64 event while Nitesh Kumar defeated Daniel Bethell in the men’s singles SL3 badminton category to win his first Paralympics gold medal. Here is how the fifth day unfolded for the Indian contingent Para-Badminton On the last day of the badminton events at the Paralympics, India ended the campaign with a total of four medals similar to that of the Tokyo Paralympics. While Nitesh Kumar clinched the gold medal in the men’s SL3, Tokyo silver medalist Suhas Yathiraj added one more silver to his cabinet after going down to home favourite Lucas Mazur in the men’s SL4 9-21, 13-21. Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manisha Ramadass …

Why Nitesh Kumar’s first call after Paralympics gold in para badminton was to defending champion Pramod Bhagat | Badminton News

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The gold had to stay in India – that was the tacit promise Nitesh Kumar had made Pramod Bhagat when he left for France. It’s why after Nitesh won India’s second Paralympics title at Paris, the first in badminton of 2024, defending the Standing / Lower limb (SL3 category) gold, his first call was placed to 2021 Games champion Bhagat, who was serving a whereabouts suspension back home. “Immediately after winning, I called him and said, ‘More than me winning gold, it was important that we keep the SL3 title in India,” Nitesh said, of establishing an Indian dynasty in this hugely contested classification. Britisher Daniel Bethell, who lost his second successive Paralympics final to an Indian, would’ve been distraught, after holding a championship point. But Nitesh had completely altered his game-style for the final, bitten back on the flashy dazzle of strokes and pushed Bethell into a corner of impatience. Knowing Bhagat’s hard-earned gold needed doughty defending, he would rather play dour for 80 minutes than blink. “It’s funny because the first person in …

Nitesh Kumar clinches maiden gold after 80-minute duel

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Nitesh Kumar clinched the gold medal at the Paralympics 2024 in Paris on Monday. In a show of stamina and skills, Nitesh defeated Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell in the Standing Lower 3 men’s singles final to win the gold medal. In a match that lasted for 80 minutes, Nitesh edged past Daniel 21-14, 18-21, 23-21. It was his first win over Bethell in ten attempts, and his maiden Paralympics gold. In the first game, Nitesh made a slow start as the rallies got longer. The 30-year-old, however, displayed his excellent service skills as he won 13 points with his serves. In the second game, Daniel fought back to draw level as he tested Nitesh’s defence at the net. In the decider, a neck-to-neck battle prevailed, with Bethell receiving strong support from the Great Britain fans. Nitesh, however, held his composure despite wasting two match points. By winning the final, Nitesh became the first Indian player to win a gold medal at the Paris Paralympics. Nitesh has been in exceptional form throughout the Paralympics. Earlier, he …

How IIT shaped Nitesh Kumar’s journey delivering Paralympic gold for India

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Popularly known as the IITs, the Indian Institute of Technology is a set of institutions that nurture the best academic minds in the country. But what happens when a Para-athlete discovers sporting excellence at an engineering college? He delivers a gold medal at the biggest stage, the Paralympics. Such is the story of Nitesh Kumar, the newly crowned Paralympic gold medalist in the men’s singles SL3 Badminton category. Finding solace in badminton The 29-year-old from Haryana suffered an accident in 2009 that left him bedridden with permanent leg damage and altered his life. However, despite the setback, his love for sports never ended. Nitesh, who played football as a kid, kept persisting in his love of sport. But while preparing for the IITs during an academic break after the 12th board exam, he would never have thought that his continuous search for a sport to play would lead him to the biggest stage in the world. After Nitesh cleared IIT in 2013, he joined IIT Mandi to study electrical engineering. While most students at IIT …

Para Badminton Paris Paralympics 2024 Live Updates: Sivarajan-Nithya lose bronze battle; Thulasimathi Murugesan, Nitesh Kumar, Suhas Yathiraj play for gold | Sport-others News

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From train accident to Paris Paralympics final, Nitesh Kumar engineers path to brink of glory Nitesh Kumar, the highly skilled towering shuttler from Haryana, downed Japan’s Fujihara Daisuke 21-16, 21-12 in the semifinals at the Chapelle Arena. (Screengrab via Paralympics) Nitesh came into the sport with a helpful build beyond his left leg amputation, but also a reputation in Para circles for playing fancy badminton, and flashy strokes. One of the most strokeful players, his overflowing talent needed direction. Gopichand would assign three of his top coaches to rotate in surprise sessions. “He has good height, and everything in defence, attack and strokes is good,” explains coach Rajendra Kumar. “But we shuffled his sessions, to add variations of three different playing styles so he would get used to different players,” he said. (READ MORE) Source link

Paris Paralympics 2024 Day 5 Live Updates: Sumit Antil in javelin, shuttlers Nitesh Kumar, Thulasimathi, Suhas Yathiraj in gold contention | Sport-others News

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Nitesh Kumar: From train accident to Paris Paralympics final Nitesh Kumar, the highly skilled towering shuttler from Haryana, downed Japan’s Fujihara Daisuke 21-16, 21-12 in the semifinals at the Chapelle Arena. (Screengrab via Paralympics) Nitesh is a trained engineer, who suffered an unfortunate train accident when he fell out of a moving coach during college, needing prosthetics on his left foot. A strapping 6 footer with a wicked reverse drop on the court, he had always liked badminton, but got serious about it in the last few years. Playing mixed doubles alongside Thulasimathi Murugesan, he spent his last six weeks before heading out to Paris, at the Pullela Gopichand academy, for a specific skills bootcamp. (READ MORE) Source link

Paralympics 2024 Day 5: Indian para-shuttlers chase triple gold, Sumit Antil in action

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Indian para-athletes will chase multiple medals on Day 5 of the Paris Paralympics 2024. In para-badminton, seven medals are up for grabs. The strong medal prospects are Thulasimathi Murugesan (women’s SU5), Nitesh Kumar (men’s SL3), and Suhas Yathiraj (men’s SL4). Others, including Sivarajan Solaimalai/Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan (mixed doubles SH6), Manisha Ramadass (women’s SU5), Sukant Kadam (men’s SL4), and Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan (women’s SH6), will vie for bronze. In shooting, Nihal Singh and Amir Ahmad Bhatt aim to qualify for the P3 Mixed 25M Pistol SH1 final in both Precision and Rapid rounds. In para-athletics, Yogesh Kathuniya (men’s F56 discus) and Sumit Antil (men’s F64 javelin) lead India’s medal hopes, with Sandip Sanjay Sargar and Sandeep Chaudhary also competing in javelin. In the women’s events, world para athletic champion, Deepthi Jeevanji runs the 400m T20 heats, while Kanchan Lakhani competes in the F53 discus final. Finally, in para-archery, Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar will compete in the Mixed Team Compound event after both concluded their individual campaigns without medals. Catch the live updates: Source …

From train accident to Paris Paralympics final, Nitesh Kumar engineers path to brink of glory | Sport-others News

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Daniel Bethell, the British SL3 finalist of para badminton, has known his arch-rival Pramod Bhagat’s game all too closely, all these years. The Indian defending champion missed out on the Paralympics from a whereabouts suspension. But Bethell might not find the path to gold a straightforward one, nor too many ready insights into the other Indian who will turn up against him at the Paris finals. Nitesh Kumar, the highly skilled towering shuttler from Haryana, downed Japan’s Fujihara Daisuke 21-16, 21-12 in the semifinals at the Chapelle Arena. He has a unique approach heading into his first Paralympic finals, that will shield all tactics from Bethell and keep things under wraps – by not planning strategy himself. “I will discuss what game to play with my coach only tomorrow morning before the final. I don’t want to think about the final at all. I don’t want to stress myself out or waste the night’s sleep thinking about it because that will spoil my recovery,” he said immediately after booking the finals spot. Bethell is a …