All posts tagged: pramod bhagat

Inside Manisha Ramadass’ relentless reign at World No. 1

Inside Manisha Ramadass’ relentless reign at World No. 1

Published by Webster

There’s a moment, almost thrown away in a rapid-fire round, where Manisha Ramadass pauses for a word to describe what it means to sit atop the world rankings for over 180 weeks. “The domination.” It’s not said with swagger. It’s an acknowledgement of something she has come to live with, day after day, session after session, tournament after tournament. In an exclusive conversation with The Bridge, Manisha peeled back the layers of dominance to reveal the doubt, discipline, and drive behind it. The stillness behind the spotlight The last year should have changed everything. A 2024 Summer Paralympics bronze medal. A historic first, India’s first woman to win a Paralympic badminton medal. Titles across continents. Recognition, headlines, expectations. And yet, she shrugs. “After Paris 2024… I don’t know if anything has changed,” she says. “Apart from the medal, people calling me a Paralympic medallist… everything else is the same. Same routine, same training every day.” That’s the contradiction at the heart of her rise. The world sees a breakthrough; she sees continuity. Even that medal, …

Pramod Bhagat wins double gold at Spanish Para Badminton 2026

Pramod Bhagat wins double gold at Spanish Para Badminton 2026

Published by Webster

India delivered a dominant performance at the Spanish Para Badminton International 2026 in Vitoria, with Paralympic champion Pramod Bhagat leading the charge with two gold medals and a silver, while Sukant Kadam secured a gold and a silver. Bhagat claimed gold in the Men’s Singles SL3 category after defeating compatriot Nitesh Kumar in a three-game final. He took the opening game 21-17 before Nitesh levelled the match with a 21-10 win. Bhagat regained control in the decider, closing it out 21-18 to secure the title. He added a second gold in Mixed Doubles SL3-SU5 alongside Manisha Ramdass. The Indian pair recovered from a first-game loss to beat Brazil’s Rogerio Junior Xavier de Oliveira and Edwarda De Oliveira Dias 13-21, 21-12, 21-19. Bhagat also finished with a silver medal in Men’s Doubles SL3-SU5, partnering Sukant Kadam, as they went down to fellow Indians Nitesh Kumar and Ruthick Ragupathi in the final. Kadam shines in singles as India secures multiple medals Sukant Kadam produced a composed performance to win gold in the Men’s Singles SL4 final, defeating …

More medals and a big rise around the World

More medals and a big rise around the World

Published by Webster

The Indian para sports ecosystem has been growing exponentially over the years, having multiple world championship titles and Paralympic medals across various sports. Historically, India has won 60 medals at the Paralympic Games, but 48 of those were won in just the last two editions, showcasing the country’s rise in this sport. At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, India accounted for almost half (29) of its all-time Paralympic medals, securing a historic first top-20 finish on the medal table. This rise in Indian para sports is not a one-off. The country has regularly been on an upward trend and has shown consistency across tournaments. Historic Asian Para Games India had a phenomenal outing at the 2023 Asian Para Games, surpassing three digits in medal count for the first time with a historic tally of 111 medals, finishing fifth overall. This was a massive increase for India from the last edition, where they had 72 medals, implying the continuous progress across various para sports programmes in India. To explore more opportunities across various sports, click here for …

Para Badminton World Championships: Double delight for Pramod Bhagat, wins record sixth singles world title | Badminton News

Para Badminton World Championships: Double delight for Pramod Bhagat, wins record sixth singles world title | Badminton News

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Feb 14, 2026 11:41 PM IST It was double delight for India’s Para Badminton star Pramod Bhagat as he captured the men’s SL3 gold medal with a commanding straight-game win over Muhammad Al Imran of Indonesia at the BWF Para World Championships in Manama on Saturday and added a doubles gold to his tally too with Sukant Kadam. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO The 37-year-old Bhagat outclassed his opponent 21-12, 21-18 in the final to claim his fourth consecutive singles gold at the world championships and his sixth overall world title in the category. The victory underlines Bhagat’s sustained dominance in the SL3 division, which refers to a classification for standing players with significant lower limb impairment. Bhagat, who developed polio when he was five, had secured world championship singles gold medals in 2009, 2015, 2019, 2022 and 2024. Saturday’s sixth win in extra special for Bhagat as China’s legendary Lin Dan, his idol, had won five men’s singles world titles in able-bodied badminton. The triumph also marked a significant redemption for Bhagat, …

Indian shuttlers clinch 8 bronze medals

Indian shuttlers clinch 8 bronze medals

Published by Webster

India had mixed run on the penultimate day of the 2026 BWF Para-Badminton World Championships, winning 6 of the 14 semi-finals in Manama, Bahrain, on Friday. The former Olympic Champion Pramod Bhagat was the star of the day for India, reaching the finals in both men’s singles SL3 and Men’s Doubles SL3-SL4 with Sukant Kadam. Pramod and Sukant will face the fellow Indian pair of Jagadesh Dili and Naveen Sivakumar in the final on Saturday, confirming a double podium finish for India in this category. FIRST 🥇 CONFIRMED AT BWF PARA BADMINTON WORLD C’SHIPS Both Indian teams of Pramod Bhagat/Sukant Kadam and Jagadesh Dilli/Naveen Sivakumar reach the FINAL in the men’s doubles SL3-SL4 category🔥#ParaBadminton 🏸 pic.twitter.com/z9RzO49W9l — The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) February 13, 2026 Earlier in the day, the young Indian shuttlers, Naveen Sivakumar (Men’s Singles SL4), Nithya Sre Sivan (Women’s Singles SH6), and Manisha Ramadass (Women’s Singles SU5) also reached the final of their respective events. First-ever wheelchair silver for India The dream run of the Indian duo of Alphia James & Prem Kumar Ale …

All you need to know about the 2026 Para Badminton World Championships

All you need to know about the 2026 Para Badminton World Championships

Published by Webster

The top para shuttlers from across the world are set to compete in the 2026 Para Badminton World Championships, which will be held in Manama, Bahrain, from February 8 to 14. A 41-member Indian contingent will also compete at the global showdown, battling for 22 coveted titles across six different categories – 12 in singles and 10 in doubles. Three-time defending champion Pramod Bhagat will aim to add another gold to his name. However, he will face a tough challenge from reigning Paralympic champion Nitesh Kumar. Krishna Nagar, the men’s SH6 category defending champion, who has been struggling for his best form, will also aim to return to winning ways in Bahrain. In the women’s section, the rising stars Thulasimathi Murugesan and Nithya Sre Sivan will target India’s first women’s singles gold in the last 4 years. Indian Squad of Para Badminton World Championship WH1 Category – Prem Kumar Ale, Shashank Kumar, Poorna Chapara, Prema Vishwas, Pallavi K.M., Nirmala Devi WH2 Category – Haris Srikumar, Manjunatha Chikkaiah, Abu Hubaida, Nurul Khan, Alphia James, Ruchi Trivedi, …

Pramod Bhagat and the art of not giving up: How former Paralympics champion shuttler bounced back from anti-doping ban | Badminton News

Pramod Bhagat and the art of not giving up: How former Paralympics champion shuttler bounced back from anti-doping ban | Badminton News

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Thinking like a pugilist is something four-time para badminton world champion Pramod Bhagat had taught himself to learn. Like a prizefighter of yore, Bhagat reckoned that no matter how shockingly success had slid from his grasp, opponents couldn’t be allowed to think they could defeat him easily when he resurfaced after serving a whereabouts-related anti-doping ban. “I fought in the final at China, my first tournament on return, for 2 hours 10 minutes. I needed that title immediately because I couldn’t let other players think my domination was finished after being away for 1.5 years,” he said. After missing the Paris Paralympics as he was serving suspension, Bhagat is now back in the top 5 of singles in para badminton’s SL-3 category. It wasn’t ‘aham’ (ego) as some might think it to be. But a large part of the Odia shuttler’s success has been based on maintaining that mental grip over opponents who know he simply won’t give up — not in a rally, not a match, a title, or his career. Afflicted by polio …

Naveen stuns 2-time Paralympic champion

Naveen stuns 2-time Paralympic champion

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Para shuttler Naveen Sivakumar stunned the two-time Paralympic Champion Lucas Mazur to clinch the title at Indonesia Para Badminton International on Sunday. He took his first-ever win against the Frenchman in their fifth meeting to clinch the MS SL4 title with a fighting three-game, 17-21, 23-21, 21-12, victory. Naveen continued his great year, having won his second singles title here after the Spanish Para Badminton International and also had an Asian bronze medal. Nithya, Manisha and Nitesh bag Individual titles India continued its dominance in other categories as Nithya Sre Sivan (SH6), Manisha Ramadass (SU5), and Nitesh Kumar (SL3) also bagged individual titles. Nithya got the better of Peruan Giuliana Poved in the final, 21-14, 21-13. Meanwhile, Paralympic champion Nitesh Kumar received a walkover against Daniel Bethell in the final. On the other hand, Manisha Ramadass got the better (12-21, 22-20, 21-14) of her fellow compatriot Thulasimathi Murugesan in the final to bag her fourth title of the year. Later in the day, the duo of Sukant Kadam and Pramod Bhagat clinched the men’s doubles …

Why Nitesh Kumar’s first call after Paralympics gold in para badminton was to defending champion Pramod Bhagat | Badminton News

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The gold had to stay in India – that was the tacit promise Nitesh Kumar had made Pramod Bhagat when he left for France. It’s why after Nitesh won India’s second Paralympics title at Paris, the first in badminton of 2024, defending the Standing / Lower limb (SL3 category) gold, his first call was placed to 2021 Games champion Bhagat, who was serving a whereabouts suspension back home. “Immediately after winning, I called him and said, ‘More than me winning gold, it was important that we keep the SL3 title in India,” Nitesh said, of establishing an Indian dynasty in this hugely contested classification. Britisher Daniel Bethell, who lost his second successive Paralympics final to an Indian, would’ve been distraught, after holding a championship point. But Nitesh had completely altered his game-style for the final, bitten back on the flashy dazzle of strokes and pushed Bethell into a corner of impatience. Knowing Bhagat’s hard-earned gold needed doughty defending, he would rather play dour for 80 minutes than blink. “It’s funny because the first person in …

From train accident to Paris Paralympics final, Nitesh Kumar engineers path to brink of glory | Sport-others News

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Daniel Bethell, the British SL3 finalist of para badminton, has known his arch-rival Pramod Bhagat’s game all too closely, all these years. The Indian defending champion missed out on the Paralympics from a whereabouts suspension. But Bethell might not find the path to gold a straightforward one, nor too many ready insights into the other Indian who will turn up against him at the Paris finals. Nitesh Kumar, the highly skilled towering shuttler from Haryana, downed Japan’s Fujihara Daisuke 21-16, 21-12 in the semifinals at the Chapelle Arena. He has a unique approach heading into his first Paralympic finals, that will shield all tactics from Bethell and keep things under wraps – by not planning strategy himself. “I will discuss what game to play with my coach only tomorrow morning before the final. I don’t want to think about the final at all. I don’t want to stress myself out or waste the night’s sleep thinking about it because that will spoil my recovery,” he said immediately after booking the finals spot. Bethell is a …