Paris [France], September 4 : Paris Paralympics gold medallist Nitesh Kumar opened up about the strategy he adopted in the men's singles SL3 category final against Great Britain's second-seeded Daniel Bethell.
The 29-year-old revelled in the moment after he managed to taste success against Daniel for the first time. Nitesh, who discovered his passion for badminton during his time at IIT-Mandi, ousted Daniel with a 21-14, 18-21, 23-21 win.
Nitesh struggled to express his feelings in words and told ANI, "I cannot express in words what I am feeling. I am getting goosebumps every time I see the faces of Indians here and how proud they all are feeling. I could not feel anything at that moment. I was numb and had goosebumps. I was getting flashbacks of my journey so far. I want to thank everyone for their blessings and support."
While addressing the strategy he relied on to overcome Daniel, staying calm was the key that helped him overcome the imposing challenge.
"I always knew I had to play against him in the final, and I was prepared for it. He was the hot favourite, and he had more pressure to win and live up to the expectations of the people. I had never defeated him before. I knew I had to stay calm, and it would come my way. That's what happened," he concluded.
India para-badminton coach Gaurav Khanna lavished praise on Nitesh for pulling off a remarkable victory over Daniel in a nerve-racking thriller.
"It was an outstanding game by Nitesh. Since he is an amputee, playing and balancing with an artificial leg & competing with a player who has natural legs- it is definitely a wonderful job," he said.
Nitesh's gold helped India register its best-ever medal tally at the Paralympics with 20, surpassing the Tokyo edition's medal haul of 19.
"I am very happy. Our targets were very high though, we could not achieve them, but we have crossed the Tokyo Paralympic medal tally," he added.
Meanwhile, Indian para-archer Rakesh Kumar, who secured a bronze medal alongside Sheetal Devi in the mixed-team compound event, dedicated his success to the entire country.
"It is a very good feeling that I could bring a medal for the country in the compound event. I thank the citizens of the country, and I dedicate the medal to them," he said.
Sheetal expressed her delight and added, "I am feeling good. This was my first Paralympics, and I gave the country a medal."
They defeated Italy's Eleonora Sarti and Matteo Bonnacina with a scoreline of 156-155 to get their hands on the bronze medal.
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