Paris Paralympics 2024: India's star para-shuttler Nitesh Kumar has assured the country of a medal by qualifying for the men's singles SL3 summit clash after defeating Japan's Daisuke Fujihara in straight games in the semis of the ongoing quadrennial event on Sunday. Nitesh, who fought through permanent leg damage due to a 2009 accident, maintained his dominance and thrashed Fujihara by 21-16 21-12 in a match that went for about 48 minutes.
The IIT Mandi graduate has now assured the country of a medal in the SL3 category, where Pramod Bhagat had won the gold medal when this category was first introduced at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics.
In the SL3 category, athletes like Nitesh participate while suffering from severe lower limb disabilities and they thus play on half-width court.
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Nitesh will lock horns with Great Britain's Daniel Bethell in the final, who had defeated Thailand's Bunsun Mongkhon 21-7, 21-9 in the semis.
Bethell, who is a 2021 Tokyo Paralympics runner up is a strong opponent and will give a tough fight in the summit clash on Monday.
Earlier in the day, Manisha Ramadass also assured the country of a medal by qualifying for the women's singles SU5 semifinal, where she will face fellow teammate Thulasimathi Murugesan but star para-shooter Avani Lekhara couldn't repeat her heroics as she missed out on winning the medal on Sunday.
Manisha, who was born with Erb's palsy, which impacted her right arm, didn't have a problem in defeating Japan's Bunsun Mongkhon 21-7, 21-9 in the quarterfinals. She defeated her opponent in just 30 minutes.
Erb's palsy is a shoulder disorder in the shoulder and arm, which leads to weakness and loss of muscle function.
She will lock horns with Thulasimathi in the semifinals, who had beaten Portugal's Bunsun Mongkhon 21-7, 21-9 in their group stage match on Saturday.