Nilesh Gaikwad

{{short description|Indian para badminton player (born 1996)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}

{{Use Indian English|date=October 2022}}

{{Infobox badminton player

| name = Nilesh Gaikwad

| image = Nilesh Gaikwad Ind.jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Gaikwad at the 2017 Asian Youth Para Games

| nickname =

| birth_name =

| country = India

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1996|06|10|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Maharashtra, India

| death_date =

| death_place =

| residence =

| height = 5 ft 6 in

| weight = 68 kg

| years_active = 2017-present

| retired =

| handedness =

| coach = Gaurav Khanna

| event = Men's singles SL4

| career_record =

| titles = 1

| played =

| highest_ranking = 4 (MS 23 May 2022)

| highest_ranking_date = 23 May 2022

| current_ranking = 8 (MS)

| current_ranking_date = 12 December 2022

| medals =

{{MedalSport |Men's para badminton}}

{{MedalCountry|{{IND}}}}

{{MedalCompetition|Asian Youth Para Games}}

{{MedalSilver | 2017 Dubai | Men's singles}}

}}

Nilesh Balu Gaikwad (born 10 June 1996) is an Indian para badminton player.{{Cite web |url=https://bwfpara.tournamentsoftware.com/player-profile/d201bc29-c862-49d5-bf8e-1ff80b9def97/biography |title=BWF Para-Badminton |website=bwfpara.tournamentsoftware.com}} He made his international debut in the Uganda Para-Badminton International in 2017,{{Cite web |url=https://bwfpara.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=58EB12CC-845E-40B5-85AD-AD5C6F2E2295&player=61 |title=BWF Para-Badminton - Uganda Para-Badminton International 2017 - Players - Nilesh Balu Gaikwad |website=bwfpara.tournamentsoftware.com}} where he won first place in the men's doubles.{{Cite web |url=https://bwfpara.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/winners.aspx?id=58EB12CC-845E-40B5-85AD-AD5C6F2E2295 |title=BWF Para-Badminton - Uganda Para-Badminton International 2017 - Winners |website=bwfpara.tournamentsoftware.com}}

He reached a career-high ranking of 4 in May 2022.{{cite web |url=https://bwfpara.tournamentsoftware.com/ranking/ranking.aspx?id=30189 |title=BWF Para-Badminton - BWF Para Badminton World Rankings - Overview}} Nilesh was always looking for the right pair of shoes for his legs and Nivia Sports made his quest successful by designing special shoes for him.{{Cite web |last=Basu |first=Sohinee |date=2022-03-23 |title=How a shoe transformed para-badminton star Nilesh Gaikwad's life |url=https://thebridge.in/para-sports/how-shoe-transformed-para-badminton-nilesh-gaikwad-life-30225 |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=thebridge.in |language=en}}