Nitesh Kumar, Naveen Sivakumar win para-badminton gold as India sweep singles finals

NAGOYA: India's Nitesh Kumar and Naveen Sivakumar won gold medals in the men's singles SL3 and SL4 categories respectively in badminton at the Asian Para Games here on Friday, Pioneer News Service reported.

Nitesh beat compatriot Pramod Bhagat 21-18, 21-16 in an all-India final between two Paralympic gold medallists. "Last time I was close, I was leading 19-16 in the third set, and then I lost. So this time, winning it and again winning in two sets against Pramod is very special," Nitesh, the Paris Paralympic gold medallist, said.

Naveen then beat Indonesia's Fredy Setiawan 21-9, 21-17 in 36 minutes to claim his gold. Bhagat, who had won gold at the 2018 and 2022 editions of the Asian Para Games, had to settle for silver this time.

"It doesn't feel that good because I had won two consecutive gold medals at the Asian Games, and I was trying to win a third gold here. Some of my strokes went wrong today, which is why I am contenting myself with just a silver," said Bhagat, the Tokyo Paralympics gold medallist.

India's Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan also won silver after losing 12-21, 13-21 to China's Li Fengmei in the women's singles SH6 final.

Earlier, Thulasimathi Murugesan, a silver medallist at the Paris Paralympics, lost 18-21, 11-21 to China's Yang Qiuxia in the women's singles SU5 final at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.

Murugesan remained in contention for two more gold medals on the day. She was set to partner Nitesh Kumar in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 final against Indonesia's Leani Ratri Oktila and Hikmat Ramdani, and to team up with Manasi Girishchandra Joshi in the women's doubles SL3-SU5 final against China's Yang Qiuxia and Xiao Zuxian.

In para badminton, SL3 is for players with significant lower-limb impairments who compete on a half court, while SL4 is for players with less severe lower-limb impairments, according to competition classifications.

(With inputs from PTI)