Kumar Nitesh

Nitesh Kumar (born 30 December 1994) is an Indian para-badminton player. He won a gold at the 2024 Paris Paralympics in the men's singles SL3 category. 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.

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. He resides at Karnal, Haryana and is supported by sports NGO, Olympic Gold Quest.

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.

Coaching career In 2019, he started working as Senior Badminton Coach at the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, Haryana.

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 LevelPartner 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