Nitesh Kumar beat Pramod Bhagat to win SL3 gold at the Asian Para Games, while Naveen Sivakumar claimed SL4 gold. Thulasimathi Murugesan and Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan won silver.
Indiaโs Nitesh Kumar and Naveen Sivakumar won gold medals in menโs singles SL3 and SL4 badminton respectively at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya on Friday. Thulasimathi Murugesan and Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan, meanwhile, had to settle for silver in their respective womenโs singles finals.
Nitesh defeated fellow Indian and two-time Asian Para Games gold medallist Pramod Bhagat 21-18, 21-16 in the SL3 final. The win was particularly special for Nitesh, who had won gold at the Paris Paralympics.
โI am very happy to win the Asian Games gold medal. Last time I was close, I was leading 19-16 in the third set, and then I lost. So this time, winning it and again winning in two sets against Pramod is, of course, very special,โ Nitesh told PTI.
Bhagat, who had won gold at the 2018 and 2022 editions, had to settle for silver. The Tokyo Paralympics gold medallist admitted that errors and poor judgement had cost him the chance to win a third consecutive Asian Para Games title.
โIt doesn’t feel that good because I had won two consecutive gold medals at the Asian Games, and I was trying to win a third gold here. I had everything, but today some of my strokes went wrong and my judgment was slightly off,โ he said.
More from Badminton NewsNaveen Sivakumar clinched the men’s singles SL4 gold after defeating Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan 21-9, 21-17 in 36 minutes.
Thulasimathi, Nithya win silver
India’s Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan finished with silver in the women’s singles SH6 final after losing 12-21, 13-21 to China’s Li Fengmei.
Earlier, Thulasimathi Murugesan, a silver medallist at the Paris Paralympics, lost 18-21, 11-21 to China’s Yang Qiuxia in the women’s singles SU5 final at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.
Murugesan, however, remains in contention for two gold medals. She will partner Nitesh in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 final against Indonesia’s Leani Ratri Oktila and Hikmat Ramdani. She will later team up with Manasi Girishchandra Joshi to face China’s Yang Qiuxia and Xiao Zuxian in the women’s doubles SL3-SU5 final.
What do the para badminton categories mean?
In para badminton, SL3 is for players with significant lower-limb impairments who compete on a half court, while SL4 is for athletes with lower-limb impairments who have better walking and running balance. SU5 is for players with upper-limb impairments, while SH6 is for athletes with short stature.