CHENNAI: On that fateful Sunday in 2009, Vijender Singh's world came crashing down when he received a call from 108 (emergency number). His only son, Nitesh Kumar, had lost his left leg in a train accident in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. A junior commissioned officer with the Indian Navy, Vijender saw his son bedridden for the next six months and life lost meaning.
Motivation came from unexpected quarters -- amputee soldiers of the Kargil War -- during a visit to the Artificial Limb Centre in Pune, where the soldiers were playing. "I kept him motivated during that period but the Kargil War amputee soldiers helped me out," Vijender told this daily. "Nitesh saw them playing sports and he joined them after a period of time." Nitesh was 15 years old then.
Those six months left an indelible mark on Nitesh, who not only went on to clear the IIT entrance test and completed electrical engineering from IIT Mandi, Himachal Pradesh but also became a para-shuttler.
On Monday, at the Paris Paralympics, Nitesh won gold in para-badminton. He defeated Great Britain's Daniel Bethell in a gripping men's singles SL3 final. With the win, India retained the SL3 gold, which Pramod Bhagat had won three years ago when badminton made its Paralympic debut in Tokyo. It was also Nitesh's first win over Bethell in the previous 10 attempts.
"I still don't feel it. Maybe when I go to the podium and the national anthem is played, it will sink in," Nitesh said after the match which lasted an hour and 20 minutes, with the final scoreline reading 21-14, 18-21, 23-21. The SL3 category is reserved for players with severe lower limb disabilities and the matches are played on a half-width court.
India won two more medals in badminton with Tamil Nadu shuttlers — Thulasimathi Murugesan from Kancheepuram and Manisha Ramadass from Thiruvallur — signing off with maiden silver and bronze medals respectively in women's singles SU5 category.