Indian shuttlers target 10 medals at Paris Paralympics

LUCKNOW: Badminton World Federation suspending Tokyo Paralympics badminton gold medallist Pramod Bhagat for 18 months after three whereabouts failures may have surprised many, but the other 13 shuttlers bound for the Paris Paralympics were prepared for the announcement since June.

Despite the setback, chief national coach of the India para badminton team for Paris, Gaurav Khanna, sounded confident about Indian shuttlers winning 10 medals in this edition of the Paralympics, starting on August 28.

“We were aware of action against Bhagat and even BWF had mentioned it clearly in June itself, so we planned our training, etc., accordingly. Bhagat’s absence won’t make any difference to India’s plan. I am sure of India para shuttlers winning 10 medals this time, including three gold medals,” Gaurav Khanna said on Wednesday at the team’s national camp here.

India won four medals in badminton – two gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze – on the game’s debut at Tokyo. Since then, Indian players have made their presence felt at international level, winning almost 500 medals, including 18 medals at the World Championships (3 gold, 4 silver, 11 bronze) and 21 medals at the Asian Para Games (4 gold, 4 silver, 13 bronze).

“We started from scratch almost three years before the Tokyo Paralympics with no hope of medals. Today we can proudly say that our shuttlers have won more than 1000 medals at the national and international levels since then,” said Khanna, recipient of the Dronacharya and Padma Shri awards.

Seven para-shuttlers have been undergoing intensive training here since the first week of July, devoting around 10 hours a day. It all starts with the day’s plan being written on a whiteboard and finishes with it being wiped clean with the schedule achieved.

“It helps us plan our training well every day. It also helps us rectify our mistakes and try new things with the help of coaches,” Palak Kohli, the 2024 World Championships bronze medallist, said.

Kohli, who will compete in the women’s singles SL4 category and in the mixed doubles with Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj, said she has learnt many things since the Tokyo Paralympics, and vowed not to return home without a medal this time.

“Ever since I took up the sport, I have seen many ups and downs, including a bone tumour which restricted me to a wheelchair. But I never lost focus on winning. The Tokyo Games taught me a lot and I am sure this time in Paris I will achieve my target,” said Kohli, 22, a triple medallist at the Youth Para Games.

Kohli has been part of the para shuttlers’ journey, which included Bhagat, in Lucknow. They started in a dingy training facility at the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) in 2017 before shifting base to Guru Gobind Singh Sports College, Uttar Pradesh Badminton Academy, going to an open space at a township during the lockdown before settling at Dr Shakuntala Mishra University.

“No one cared about the facilities when we began our Paralympics journey here, much before the Tokyo Games. Everyone in the team, including Pramod Bhagat, Manoj Sarkar, Krishna Nagar, and even Palak, shouldered the responsibilities well, managing things,” said Khanna.

He said it is the shuttlers’ hard work and dedication that paid rich dividends in Tokyo and will again stand them in good stead. “We have chalked out our strategy according to the rivals in each category. Every shuttler has been asked to watch the video footage of their expected rivals and work on their shortcomings to gain success,” Khanna said. “Let’s hope for the best and we are prepared well.”

TEAM

Men’s singles SH6: Krishna Nagar; Sivarajan Solaimalai

Men’s singles SL3: Kumar Nitesh; Manoj Sarkar

Women’s singles SL3: Manasi Girishchandra Joshi; Mandeep Kaur

Men’s singles SL4: Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj; Sukant Kadam; Tarun

Women’s singles SL4: Palak Kohli

Women’s singles SU5:Thulasimathi Murugesan; Manisha Ramadass

Women’s singles SH6: Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan

Mixed Doubles SL3-SU5: Kumar Nitesh and Thulasimathi Murugesan; Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj and Palak Kohli.

Mixed Doubles SH6: Sivarajan Solaimalai and Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan.