New Delhi: Nitesh Kumar, an Indian Institute of Technology-Mandi alumnus, never imagined that his decision to transition from electrical engineering would one day lead him to sporting glory. Last week, the Paris Paralympics gold medallist in the SL3 badminton men’s singles was chosen for the Arjuna Award, India’s second highest sports prize.
India won 60 medals at the Paris Paralympic Games – the country’s most successful campaign with 16 gold, 21 silver and 23 bronze. In Tokyo, India won 19 medals (5 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze).
On his Paralympics debut, the 30-year-old achieved a personal milestone, defeating national champions Pramod Bhagat and Manoj Sarkar to secure gold. Having given up engineering, Kumar makes an impact as a senior badminton coach with the Haryana government since 2019.
“I feel great that I’m getting this recognition. This award will motivate me to push myself and achieve more medals for India,” he told HT.
Kumar, however, was disappointed that several other para athletes were overlooked for the government sports honour.
“The inclusivity in the society has gone higher. People appreciate our efforts and our victory more than earlier, but the para community is a little surprised that we only have one Khel Ratna awardee (para high jumper Praveen Kumar) when we had seven gold medallists,” said the Karnal native.
“I feel Harvinder Singh, the only Indian gold medallist in archery or para-archery, deserved to be a Khel Ratna awardee.” Para archer Harvinder won gold in men’s individual recurve competition.
He said para shuttlers Mansi Joshi – she won silver and bronze at last year’s World Championships – and Thulasumathi Murugesan – she won silver at the Worlds and the Paris Paralympics – also deserved to be among this year’s Arjuna awardees.
Currently training at the Shining Star Academy in Bahadurgarh, Haryana under coach Jakkampudi Rajendra Kumar, Kumar is gearing up for a packed schedule.
Besides the Badminton Asia Para Championships to be held in Thailand this June and the Para World Championships in New Delhi in September, the shuttler has also set his sights on clinching a second gold at the Asian Para Games. The 2026 edition will be staged in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
“I want to win all of them as well because, as of now, I don’t have a gold medal in worlds.”
