Paris, September 3 (HS). India's Nithya Sri Sivan won the bronze medal in the women's SH6 category by defeating Indonesia's Rina Marlina 21-14, 21-6 late on Monday night.
The 19-year-old Indian defeated the Indonesian para shuttler in just 23 minutes after waiting for nearly an hour due to technical problems after the previous medal ceremony.
With this medal, India surpassed its tally of four medals in badminton in Tokyo.
After the match, the excited para shuttler from Tamil Nadu said, “I am unable to express my feelings. This would be my best moment. I have played against her (Reena) 9-10 times but have never beaten her. Because of my past experience, even when I was ahead, I was telling myself to stay focused and not take it easy. I mentally prepared myself not to celebrate too early.”
Nithya won two bronze medals at the 2022 Asian Para Games held in Hangzhou, China. In May 2022, the Asian Youth Para Games winner also won a gold medal at the first Bahrain Para Badminton International Championships in Manama. In December 2022, she won a gold medal at the Peru Para Badminton International in Lima, defeating the world silver medallist.
SH6 Category
The SH6 category includes short athletes who compete standing. The 'S' in SH stands for 'standing' and the 'H' stands for 'short stature'.