NEW DELHI: India's gold medal winner in badminton men's singles, Nitesh Kumar, said on Wednesday that the absence of Pramod Bhagat gave him "extra responsibility" to win the title at the Paralympics.
Nitesh, who clinched gold in the men's singles SLC category, was felicitated by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Mansukh Mandaviya, along with Thulasimathi Murugesan (silver), Suhas Yathiraj (silver), Manisha Ramadass (bronze), and Nithya Sre Sivan (bronze) at the SAI headquarters.
Nitesh stated that his mantra was to take it one game at a time at the Paralympics after Bhagat was suspended for 18 months ahead of the Games. "I thought of taking one game at a time, going out there as world No 1, first seed, it was a responsibility for me to win the title, especially when Pramod was unable to participate in the Paralympics," he told PTI in an exclusive interaction. "It was an extra responsibility for me to go out and win for India."
Entering the final, Nitesh knew it would be intense and mentally tough. "I had the confidence to be superior to him and be at my best," he added.
Sports Minister Mandaviya lauded the Indian contingent for recording the country's best-ever medal haul and expressed hope that the athletes would win more medals in the remainder of the competition. "We'll cheer for Bharat and in the coming days, our players will fight for 11 more medals. I believe that the way our players are performing in the Paralympics, they have a bright future ahead," he said. Mandaviya also noted, "India still has a chance to win 11 more medals at the Paralympics."
Yathiraj, who defended his silver medal from Tokyo, ruled out retiring anytime soon. "Winning the silver medal is a challenge in itself. Every player wants to win gold and the disappointment remains when they don't win," said Yathiraj. "Life's a journey and I want to live this moment, not thinking much about my future in the game right now," he added.
Murugesan commented, "I am happy with silver. I think I have to work harder for changing the colour of my medal."
Head coach Gaurav Khanna hoped India's medal count would improve in the next edition. "We aimed to win 8-10 medals but had to settle with five. We hope that we will achieve our goals in the 2028 edition," he said.