Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan clinched bronze in the women’s singles SH6 category after beating Rina Marlina of Indonesia 21-14 21-6 in the play-off clash at the 2024 Paris Paralympics on Monday.
Earlier, Kumar Nitesh clinched his first Paralympic gold in men’s singles SL3 while Suhas Yathiraj and Thulasimathi Murugesan secured silver in SL4 and SU5 categories respectively as
Young Manisha Ramadass and Nithya Sre Sivan added to the tally by winning a bronze each in the women’s singles SU5 and women’s singles SH6, marking a historic day for Indian para badminton with five medals.
Nitesh, 29, who lost his left leg in a train accident in 2009, displayed remarkable resilience and tactical brilliance in his 21-14, 18-21, 23-21 victory over Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell in a gripping final, securing India’s first gold of the event.
In the SL4 category, Suhas, a 2007 batch IAS officer, became the first Indian shuttler to win back-to-back silver medals at the Paralympics after falling 9-21, 13-21 to France’s Lucas Mazur in the men’s singles final.
In the women’s singles SU5 category, 22-year-old Thulasimathi, born with a congenital deformity in her left hand, fought hard but lost 17-21, 10-21 to China’s defending champion Yang Qiuxia, taking home the silver.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Manisha, who was born with Erb’s Palsy affecting her right arm, secured the bronze by defeating Denmark’s Cathrine Rosengren 21-12, 21-8.
Sukant Kadam had a chance to add another bronze but he lost 17-21 18-21 to third seed Indonesian Fredy Setaiwan in the men’s singles SL4 third-place play-off.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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