We come across many inspiring stories about sportsmen in our country. But here we have a unique case of Nitesh Kumar an aspiring Para shuttler studying in IIT Mandi.
Nitesh had passion for sports right from his childhood days but an accident in 2009 made him bed-ridden for months permanently damaging his legs.
The setback did not stop Nitesh from preparing for IIT examinations. With his hard work he eventually got admission at the IIT Mandi in 2013.It was IIT Roorkee where he went for a preparatory course which ignited his interest in badminton. He would take on his normal body batch mates and eventually started defeating them on the court.
One event laid to another with Nitesh earning a spot in the Haryana team to participate in the Para Nationals in Faridabad in 2016. He got instant success by picking up Bronze medal and followed it up by a significant silver medal and bronze in the doubles event in Bangalore.
After this there has been no looking back for Nitesh as he has continued to prosper by winning a bronze medal in Asian Para Games in 2018.He has kick started 2019 with a bang by winning two medal in Turkey and Dubai.
Although he has been trying to balance studies and sports the medals at the Asian games helped him to strengthen his focus towards sport.
His college IIT-Mandi has given him great strength and support by allowing to pursue his dream of playing badminton even after being a para-student. The college has also helped him by providing training facilities and extending financial support. His national coach Gaurav Khanna has also played a great role in shaping Nitesh to this level.
