There were 10 medal events in which Indian para-athletes were participating on Day 5 of Paris Paralympics 2024. India won eight medals including two gold rising to 15th on medals tally. The latest addition to the tally was Nithya Sre Sivan's bronze. On September 2, she beat Indonesia's Rina Marlina in straight games 21-14, 21-6 at La Chapelle Arena Court 3 winning a bronze medal in the SH6 category.
Nithya dominated the first game taking a massive 7-0 lead. However, Marlina made inroads and made it 10-10. Nithya gained back control and did not let Marlina take the lead. She won the opening game in just 13 minutes. The dominance continued in the second game and Nithya took a 10-2 lead. However, this time there was no fightback from Marlina as Nithya won the second game in just 10 minutes to win the bronze medal.
This was Nithya’s maiden appearance at the games. She was ecstatic and hugged her coach after the win in straight sets against an opponent who has beaten her on several occasions. She revealed that she told herself to remain focused and avoid celebrating early.
“I’m unable to express my emotions. This would be my best moment. I have played against her(Rina) over 9-10 times but have never defeated her. I was telling myself even when I was in the lead to maintain focus and to not take it easy due to my past experience. I prepared myself mentally to not celebrate early,” said the Tamil Nadu-born para-shuttler after the game.
How Nithya became a world-class shuttler
Nithya is currently the world no.1 in women's singles SH6 category. As a kid, she was interested in cricket like her brother and brother. She took badminton seriously while watching Lin Dan in Rio Olympics 2016. She trained at a local academy but could go only twice a week due to financial issues. She was told by her coach to practice regularly. She shifted to Lucknow and trained under the watchful eye of Donacharya awardee head head coach of Team India, Gaurav Khanna.
She rose through the ranks and won a gold medal at the Asian Youth Para Games 2021 in Bahrain. She has a bronze medal each in women's doubles team and women's mixed doubles at Hangzhou Asian Games 2022.
NOTE: The 'SH' in SH6 category stands for "standing/short stature". As the name suggests, in this category, athletes with short stature compete while standing.
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