'Wanted to Join The Army' - Paralympics Gold Medalist Nitesh Kumar's Alternative Career Plans

Nitesh Kumar won a gold medal for India in the sport of para-badminton at the Paralympics 2024. But before he become a champion for a billion people, his life goals were very different - and involved him following in the footsteps of his father, as he revealed to the Republic SportFit podcast exclusively. Nitish lost his left leg due to a tragic train accident, but admits that were he able-bodied then he would have joined the Army like his father did. The Paralympics gold medallist admits he fantasised about being in a uniform just like the one his father had, but life had other plans for him in the end. Incidentally, his inability to join the Army led him to pursue studies more seriously - yet when he cracked IIT , he ended up gravitating towards a sport he had never played before in badminton. Nitish was doing his B.Tech at IIT Mandi when he first started properly playing badminton. IIT Mandi did not discourage him from playing and thus he was able to keep playing, something he is forever grateful for as it helped him become the person he is today.