Indian ace shuttler Nitesh Kumar who won two gold medals at the Para Badminton National Championships feels that wins here in this tournament will boost his morale for the upcoming events next year. Nitesh Kumar was in a great flow at the recently concluded National Championships and is looking forward to the upcoming tournaments lined up for 2022.
Nitesh Kumar, who won two gold medals defeating Tokyo Paralympians Manoj Sarkar and Pramod Bhagat at the Para Badminton National Championships in Bhubaneshwar. Nitesh paired up with Tarun Dhillon to defeat World No 1 pairing Pramod Bhagat and Manoj Sarkar in straight sets in the doubles finals.
He feels that playing against such fantastic players need a lot more than only skill. Nitesh also added how these wins will give him confidence for the Asian Games and World Championships in 2022.
“More than physical strength, mental toughness is needed when you playing against experienced players (Pramod and Manoj). The two important wins here will give me a lot of confidence for Asian Games and World Championships in 2022,” Nitesh Kumar told ANI after his men’s doubles finals win.
Nitesh Kumar earlier defeated Tokyo Paralympic Gold medalist Pramod Baghat in the men’s singles SL3 semi-finals before beating Manoj Sarkar in the finals to clinch the gold medal at the National Championships.
The shuttler from Haryana feels that he believed in his game and played with a positive frame of mind that helped him win matches.
“It was a difficult game and beating them was a tough task since they are the champions. I have been losing very close matches to Pramod till now but this time I made it. We have been playing against each other for a long time, so we know each other’s game and weak points,” said Nitesh Kumar.
Nitesh highlighted how everyone thought that Pramod Bhagat will win the clash. Even Nitesh thought that Pramod will beat him but he kept fighting with a positive mindset. He revealed that he was taking pressure but then thought of taking one point at a time.
“Pramod is world no 1, he is the champion so people expected him to win. Even I thought that Pramod would beat me but I played with a positive mindset. I was under pressure but then stuck to taking each point at a time,” he added.
The Haryana based shuttler is now gearing up for the upcoming events and will look to keep up his form from the Para Badminton National Championships.
