Golden Touch

Paris, September 2

Nitesh Kumar secured his first Paralympics gold in the men’s singles SL3, while Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manisha Ramadass clinched silver and bronze in the women’s singles SU5, respectively, marking a historic performance by Indian shuttlers here today. Suhas Yathiraj then secured his second successive Paralympics silver medal in the men’s singles SL4.

Nitesh, 29, who lost his left leg in a train accident in 2009, showed remarkable resilience and tactical brilliance in his 21-14 18-21 23-21 victory over Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell in a gripping final, delivering India’s first gold of the event. “I still don’t feel it,” Nitesh, a fan of Virat Kohli, said after the 80-minute match. “Maybe, when I go to the podium and the national anthem is played, it will sink in.”

In the women’s singles SU5 category, 22-year-old Thulasimathi, born with a congenital deformity in her left hand, fought hard but lost 17-21 10-21 to China’s defending champion Yang Qiuxia, taking home the silver.

“I am happy with the silver but a bit disappointed that I couldn’t give my best,” she said. “I made a lot of mistakes. I should have taken the first set.”

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Manisha, who was born with Erb’s Palsy affecting her right arm, secured the bronze by defeating Denmark’s Cathrine Rosengren 21-12 21-8. “I am very happy. I am on cloud nine,” said Manisha.

“I was really disappointed yesterday. I couldn’t get over it. Since I woke up today, I was still thinking about the match. I was angry for making some errors yesterday, so I poured all that anger on the court today. But this is not enough for me; I will work hard for the next four years to change the colour of the medal.”

Suhas went down in straight games to favourite Lucas Mazur of France in the final. The 41-year-old Suhas, a 2007 batch IAS officer, looked tentative and was no match for the formidable French, losing 9-21 13-21 in a lop-sided summit clash.

The loss meant Lucas once again denied Suhas the glory, having beaten him in the Tokyo Paralympics final three years ago. Born with a congenital deformity in his left ankle, which significantly affected his mobility, Suhas plays in the SL4 category which is meant for athletes competing while standing with less severe impairment than in SL3. “It wasn't my day; I'm not happy with my performance,” said Suhas.

Sukant Kadam had a chance to add another bronze but he lost 17-21 18-21 to third seed Indonesian Fredy Setaiwan in the men's singles SL4 third-place play-off.