Nitesh Kumar was quick to insist he had moved on from a train accident that led to him needing a prosthetic knee down. When he became a Paralympic champion this last week, it was the crisp quality of his strokes – defense and variations – that helped him win the marathon event of para-badminton, the SL3 half court duels where rallies routinely go over 100+ shots. His court movements were visibly difficult and his opponent Daniel Bethell held a distinct advantage whenever he made Nitesh lunge. But the strokes were sublime. And the thrilling final stayed engrossing not for waves of surging sympathy watching the two battle – Nitesh limping around, and Bethell overcoming his cerebral palsy shortcomings. For at some point, the contest simply went beyond the inspiration-template that para-Games keep mining from watchers. And it became a simple, raw sporting contest of a yo-yoing badminton rally, where the two gladiators were tested on who wouldn’t blink first. It was high-quality shot making, and Bethell’s deceptive riddles had a packed house at La Chapelle …