Kumar Nitesh

Nitesh Kumar
Kumar in January 2025
Personal information
Country India
Born (1994-12-30) 30 December 1994
Bas Kirtan, Rajasthan, India
ResidenceKarnal, Haryana, India
Years active2016–present
HandednessRight
Men's singles SL3
Men's doubles SL3–SL4
Highest rankingMen's singles
3 (2022)
Men's doubles
2; with Tarun Dhillon (2022)
Current rankingMen's singles: 1
Men's doubles: 5
Medal record
Men's para-badminton
Representing  India
Paralympic Games
2024 Paris Men's singles
World Championships
2019 Basel Men's doubles
2022 Tokyo Men's singles
2024 Pattaya Men's singles
Asian Para Games
2022 Hangzhou Men's doubles
2022 Hangzhou Men's singles
2018 Jakarta Men's doubles
2022 Hangzhou Mixed doubles
BWF profile

Nitesh Kumar (born 30 December 1994) is an Indian para-badminton player.[1] He won a gold at the 2024 Paris Paralympics in the men's singles SL3 category.[2] He is a two-time silver and one-time bronze medalist at the World Championships. Kumar has won one gold, one silver and two bronze medals at the Asian Para Games over the years.[3]

Early life and education

Kumar was born on 30 December 1994 in Bas Kirtan, Rajasthan. In 2009, he lost his left leg in a train accident in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. After bed ridden for many months, he prepared for IIT entrance exam for over a year and joined Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi in 2014. He started playing badminton at IIT and in 2016 represented the Haryana team at the Para National Championships.[4] He resides at Karnal, Haryana and is supported by sports NGO, Olympic Gold Quest.[5]

Career

He made his international debut in 2016. In 2017, he won his first title at the Irish Para-Badminton International. Later, he took part and won matches at BWF Para Badminton World Circuit and won a gold medal at the 2022 Asian Para Games at Hangzhou, China.[4][5]

He became the world number 3 in the SL3 category on 14 June 2022.[6]

Coaching career

In 2019, he started working as Senior Badminton Coach at the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, Haryana.[7][4]

Achievements

Paralympic Games

Men's singles SL3

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2024 Porte de La Chapelle Arena, Paris, France Daniel Bethell 21–14, 18–21, 23–21 Gold

World Championships

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2022 Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan Pramod Bhagat 19–21, 19–21 Silver
2024 Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall, Pattaya, Thailand Daniel Bethell 18–21, 22–20, 14–21 Bronze

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2019 St. Jakobshalle,
Basel, Switzerland
Tarun Dhillon Pramod Bhagat
Manoj Sarkar
21–14, 15–21, 16–21 Silver

Asian Para Games

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2022 Binjiang Gymnasium, Hangzhou, China Pramod Bhagat 20–22, 21–18, 19–21 Silver

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2018 Istora Gelora Bung Karno,
Jakarta, Indonesia
Anand Kumar Boregowda Jeon Sun-woo
Joo Dong-jae
16–21, 11–21 Bronze
2022 Binjiang Gymnasium,
Hangzhou, China
Sukant Kadam Dwiyoko
Fredy Setiawan
9–21, 21–19, 22–20 Gold

Mixed doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2022 Binjiang Gymnasium,
Hangzhou, China
Thulasimathi Murugesan Fredy Setiawan
Khalimatus Sadiyah
17–21, 12–21 Bronze

BWF Para Badminton World Circuit (12 titles, 11 runners-up)

The BWF Para Badminton World Circuit – Grade 2, Level 1, 2 and 3 tournaments has been sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation from 2022.[8] [9]

Men's singles

Year Tournament Level Opponent Score Result
2022 Spanish Para Badminton International II Level 2 Pramod Bhagat 21–17, 17–21, 17–21 Runner-up
2022 Brazil Para Badminton International Level 2 Daisuke Fujihara 21–15, 18–21, 21–18 Winner
2022 Dubai Para Badminton International Level 2 Pramod Bhagat 21–19, 17–21, 17–21 Runner-up
2023 Brazil Para Badminton International Level 2 Pramod Bhagat 21–12, 21–13 Winner
2023 Bahrain Para Badminton International Level 2 Pramod Bhagat 16–21, 17–21 Runner-up
2023 Western Australia Para Badminton International Level 2 Manoj Sarkar 21–14, 21–14 Winner
2024 Spanish Para Badminton International II Level 2 Manoj Sarkar 21–17, 21–14 Winner
2024 Spanish Para Badminton International I Level 1 Oleksandr Chyrkov 21–11, 21–13 Winner
2024 4 Nations Para Badminton International Level 1 Daniel Bethell 11–21, 7–21 Runner-up

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result
2022 Spanish Para Badminton International II Level 2 Sukant Kadam Pramod Bhagat
Manoj Sarkar
19–21, 21–11, 11–21 Runner-up
2022 Brazil Para Badminton International Level 2 Tarun Dhillon Mohammad Arwaz Ansari
Deep Ranjan Bisoyee
21–13, 17–21, 18–21 Runner-up
2022 Bahrain Para Badminton International Level 2 Tarun Dhillon Mongkhon Bunsun
Siripong Teamarrom
21–13, 21–7 Winner
2023 Spanish Para Badminton International II Level 2 Tarun Dhillon Pramod Bhagat
Sukant Kadam
20–22, 21–12, 9–21 Runner-up
2023 Thailand Para Badminton International Level 2 Tarun Dhillon Pramod Bhagat
Sukant Kadam
21–18, 14–21, 19–21 Runner-up
2023 Bahrain Para Badminton International Level 2 Tarun Dhillon Pramod Bhagat
Sukant Kadam
24–22, 9–21, 14–21 Runner-up
2023 Canada Para Badminton International Level 1 Tarun Dhillon Nilesh Gaikwad
Nehal Gupta
21–12, 21–8 Winner
Guillaume Gailly
William Roussy
21–13, 21–12
Deep Ranjan Bisoyee
Manoj Sarkar
21–9, 17–21, 21–16
Pramod Bhagat
Sukant Kadam
11–21, 21–16, 21–16
2022 Bahrain Para Badminton International Level 2 Tarun Dhillon Mongkhon Bunsun
Siripong Teamarrom
21–13, 21–7 Winner
2023 Spanish Para Badminton International II Level 2 Tarun Dhillon Pramod Bhagat
Sukant Kadam
20–22, 21–12, 9–21 Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result
2023 Brazil Para-Badminton International Level 2 Thulasimathi Murugesan Hikmat Ramdani
Leani Ratri Oktila
18–21, 9–21 Runner-up
2023 Uganda Para Badminton International Level 3 Thulasimathi Murugesan Naveen Sivakumar
Palak Kohli
21–12, 21–11 Winner
2023 Western Australia Para Badminton International Level 2 Thulasimathi Murugesan Fredy Setiawan
Khalimatus Sadiyah
15–21, 22–20, 21–19 Winner
2024 Spanish Para Badminton International II Level 2 Thulasimathi Murugesan Chirag Baretha
Mandeep Kaur
21–11, 21–16 Winner
2024 Spanish Para Badminton International I Level 1 Thulasimathi Murugesan Lucas Mazur
Faustine Noël
22–20, 21–15 Winner

International Tournaments (7 runners-up)

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2018 Uganda Para Badminton International Umesh Vikram Kumar 21–17, 15–21, 15–21 Runner-up
2020 Peru Para Badminton International Pramod Bhagat 18–21, 21–15, 14–21 Runner-up
2021 Dubai Para Badminton International Pramod Bhagat 17–21, 18–21 Runner-up

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2018 Dubai Para Badminton International Fredy Setiawan Ukun Rukaendi
Hary Susanto
17–21, 15–21 Runner-up
2019 Turkish Para Badminton International Tarun Dhillon Dwiyoko
Fredy Setiawan
14–21, 15–21 Runner-up
2019 Irish Para Badminton International Tarun Dhillon Pramod Bhagat
Manoj Sarkar
21–13, 18–21, 21–23 Runner-up
2021 Dubai Para Badminton International Sukant Kadam Pramod Bhagat
Manoj Sarkar
18–21, 16–21 Runner-up

References

  1. ^ "Player Profile".
  2. ^ Sportstar, Team (2 September 2024). "Paralympics 2024: Nitesh Kumar wins gold in para-badminton men's singles SL3". sportstar.thehindu.com. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Asian Para Games: Shuttler duo of Nitesh-Tarun claim yet another gold for India". ANI News. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Who Is Nitesh Kumar: IIT Graduate Who Won Paris Paralympics 2024 Gold For India | Olympics News". NDTVSports.com. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  5. ^ a b "IIT graduate, gold in Paralympics: Nitesh Kumar living India's dream in Paris". India Today. 2 September 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  6. ^ "BWF Para-Badminton – BWF Para Badminton World Rankings". bwfpara.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Nitesh Kumar: The para shuttler from IIT chasing big dreams". 25 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Para Badminton Tournament Structure Bids for Tournaments 2022 Onwards". Badminton World Federation. 29 May 2022.
  9. ^ "BWF Para Tournamentsoftware". Badminton World Federation. 11 July 2022.