NEW DELHI:
Nitesh Kumar, the gold medallist in badminton men's singles at the Paris Paralympics, expressed his thoughts on the added pressure he faced due to
Pramod Bhagat's absence from the competition.
The minister of youth affairs and sports
Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday honoured Nitesh,
Thulasimathi Murugesan (silver), Suhas Yathiraj (silver), Manisha Ramadass (bronze), and Nithya Sre Sivan (bronze) at the SAI headquarters for their outstanding performances at the Paralympics.
Nitesh revealed that his strategy was to approach the Paralympics one game at a time, especially after Bhagat's 18-month suspension prior to the Para Games. This mindset helped him stay focused and ultimately secure the gold medal in the men's singles SL3 category.
"I thought of taking one game at a time, going out there as World No. 1, first seed, it was a responsibility for me to win the title, especially when Pramod was unable to participate in the Paralympics," he told PTI in an exclusive interaction.
"It was an extra responsibility for me to go out and win for India. Entering the final, I knew it would be intense and mentally tough for both of us. I had the confidence to be superior to him and be at my best", he added.
Mandaviya commended the Indian athletes for their outstanding performance, which resulted in the highest medal count in the nation's history. He expressed optimism that the team would continue to excel and secure additional medals in the remaining events of the tournament
"We'll cheer for Bharat and in the coming days, our players will fight for 11 more medals. I believe that the way our players are performing in the Paralympics, they have a bright future ahead," he said.
"India still has a chance to win 11 more medals at the Paralympics," said Mandaviya.
Yathiraj, who successfully defended his silver medal from Tokyo, has ruled out any plans of retiring in the near future.
"Winning the silver medal is a challenge in itself. Every player wants to win the gold and the disappointment remains when they don't win," said Yathiraj.
"Life's a journey and I want to live this moment, not thinking much about my future in the game right now," he said while talking about his retirement.
Murugesan said, "I am happy with silver. I think I have to work harder for changing the colour of my medal."
Head coach Gaurav Khanna hoped India's medal count will improve in the next edition. "We aimed to win 8-10 medals but had to settle with five. We hope that we will achieve our goals in the 2028 edition," he said.
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