Who is Nithya Sre Sivan? All you need to know about Indian para-badminton athlete competing Paris 2024 Paralympics
Indian para-shuttler Nithya Sre Sivan is competing at the ongoing Paris 2024 Paralympics in the SH6 category. Born in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, she bagged two bronze medals in the women's doubles and mixed doubles events at the Asian Para Games 2022 in Hangzhou, China.
Nithya's favorite sport as a child was cricket, as her brother was a district player and her father enjoyed watching it as well. However, she started loving badminton after watching the sport at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
She slowly started admiring the game and its players. She became a fan of two-time Olympic gold medallist shuttler Li Dan of China. The Chinese top shuttler's inspiring journey motivated her to take up the sport.
Though her brother joined a badminton academy then, she was sent to a classical dance school to learn Bharatanatyam. However, after waiting for a long time, she got her chance to play badminton.
Nithya Sre Sivan's first taste of success
Nithya Sre Sivan was taken to a badminton academy where her dad's friends used to train a lot of children. Two years later, she went on to clinch her first medal (silver) at the District Championships.
Subsequently, she clinched multiple medals at the district and state levels. Just before the lockdown in 2020, she learned about para-badminton through her father's colleague, who was also a para-badminton state-level player.
Training under Gaurav Khanna
That was the point in time when Nithya Sre got enrolled for the Tamil Nadu para-badminton state championships. Later, she went on to train under Gaurav Khanna, the head coach of the Indian para-badminton team. She shifted her training base to Lucknow.
Multiple gold medals and rise to prominence
In May 2022, she secured a gold medal at the Bahrain Para-Badminton International Championships in Manama. In November 2022, she emerged as the World No. 1 para shuttler in the women’s singles SH6 category.
Later in December 2022, Nithya Sre secured another gold in the women's singles at Peru Para Badminton International in Lima. She also secured a gold medal at the Asian Youth Para Games in the same year.
Subsequently, she achieved success at the Asian Para Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China, with two bronze medals. In 2024, she bagged a gold medal at the 4 Nations Para Badminton International in Glasgow.
Supported by the Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), Nithya Sre Sivan aspires to win a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympics and also has the goal of running her own badminton academy.