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Nitesh and Navin win gold in badminton at Asian Para Games; Sandeep sets world record in athletics
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Aaj Tak
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Nitesh and Navin win gold in badminton at Asian Para Games; Sandeep sets world record in athletics

Indian athletes demonstrated outstanding results at the Asian Para Games on Friday, winning gold medals in badminton, athletics, and archery.

Nitesh Kumar and Navin Shivkumar won the badminton match, while Sandeep secured gold in the men's T64 400-meter race, setting a world record. Additionally, para-archers Harvinder Singh and Vijay Sundi brought India a gold medal in the men's pair recurve event.

Indian athlete Nitesh Kumar won the gold medal in the men's SL3 badminton final, defeating his compatriot Pramod Bhagat in two sets. In the match between the two players who had already won gold at the Paralympic Games, Nitesh won with a score of 21-18, 21-16.

This victory is particularly significant for Nitesh as he overcame the disappointment experienced at the previous Asian Para Games. He stated that he is very happy to win the gold medal at the Asian Games, noting that last time he was close to victory but lost in the third set, leading by a score of 19-16. Therefore, this victory and the win over Pramod in two sets are extremely important to him.

Navin Shivkumar continued India's success by winning the gold medal in the men's SL4 category. Thus, Indian athletes secured gold medals in both men's badminton classes.

In athletics, Sandeep set a world record by running the 400-meter distance for men's T64 in 52.28 seconds, winning the gold medal. He beat Noor Alsan from Saudi Arabia by 0.85 seconds, who took silver with a time of 53.13 seconds. Indian athlete Ajay Kumar won the bronze medal with a time of 53.61 seconds, which also became a games record in this discipline.

In this race, Sandeep and Alsan belong to the T44 category, while Ajay Kumar competes in the T64 category. Both categories represent disability groups related to lower limb conditions, and their competitions are held simultaneously.

In archery, para-archers Harvinder Singh and Vijay Sundi won the gold medal in the men's pair recurve event, defeating China with a score of 5-1. In the first set of the final, held at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park, the team score was tied at 35-35. However, the Indian pair managed to take the second set 37-36 and the third set 38-36, thus winning the title.

In the last two sets, the Indian pair demonstrated more accurate shooting, giving Chinese opponents Yun Duo and Zhao Lishuai no chance for a comeback.

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Sital Devi wins gold at Asian Para Games after trailing by four points
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Sital Devi wins gold at Asian Para Games after trailing by four points

Indian archery star Sital Devi has once again won the gold medal at the Asian Para Games. The 19-year-old Sital, who was born without arms, defeated Alim Nur Syahida from Singapore with a score of 142-139 in the final of the women's individual compound event, becoming the gold medalist for the second consecutive time. Notably, Sital managed to achieve victory by making an impressive comeback after falling behind her opponent.

Previously, at the 2023 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, Sital also defeated Alim in the final to win gold. This time, the title match was between the two top archers, where the Indian athlete demonstrated the ability to remain calm under pressure.

During the final, Alim initially gained a four-point lead after the first two stages, where each shot six arrows. This presented a serious challenge for Sital to make a comeback. However, the Indian archer showed outstanding performance in the next two stages, consistently scoring ten points for each shot. Among these shots were three that hit very close to the center of the target and received the so-called 'X' score.

Thanks to this brilliant performance, Sital increased her advantage by two points. In the final stage, there were three arrows remaining, and the gold medal was at stake. Sital scored nine points for each of the three arrows, adding a total of 27 points. Her opponent, Alim, performed weaker under pressure, scoring nine, eight, and nine points for the last three arrows. Thus, she could only accumulate a total of 26 points in the final round, and Sital won with a score of 142-139.

Before winning the individual event, Sital Devi had already won the gold medal in the mixed team compound event several hours earlier along with Toman Kumar. This brought her total number of gold medals at the current Asian Para Games to two. Earlier, Sital also won a silver medal in the women's double event with Payal Nag, who is a disabled athlete with quadriplegia from Odisha. Thus, her total medal count reached three.

Sital Devi is from Jammu and Kashmir and is among the world's leading para-archers due to her exceptional skills. Her performance once again proved that she is capable of making a magnificent comeback in tense matches despite the pressure.

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