India's para-badminton duo of Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manisha Ramadass won silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the women's singles SU5 category at the Paris Paralympics.
Thulasimathi Murugesan outlasted compatriot Manisha Ramadass in an all-India affair to reach the women's singles SU5 badminton final at the Paralympics.
Reigning World champion Pramod Bhagat continued India's fine showing at the Tokyo Paralympics with a gold medal in the badminton SL3 class event, in Tokyo, on Saturday. The 33-year-old Bhagat, who is also the world No. 1 and current Asian champion, scored a 21-11, 21-16 win over Japan's Daisuke Fujihara in the first SL3 class semi-final, which lasted 36 minutes.
Suhas said the real backbone behind his success in sports is the unstinted support of his family.
In a massive blow to India's medal chances, cricket, field hockey, badminton, wrestling, among others, have been dropped from the programme for the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow, which will be held from July 23 to August 2, 2026.
On November 30, President Droupadi Murmu presented the Sports and Adventure Awards 2022.
Sumit Antil clinched a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games javelin throw F64 event with a world record effort of 73.29m.
The Indian government has established two expert committees aimed at elevating the country's sports performance.
Indian shuttlers Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manisha Ramadass signed off with maiden silver and bronze medals respectively in women's singles SU5 category at the Paralympics
Bhagat is suspended from all badminton-related activities until September 1, 2025. As a result, he won't have the opportunity to defend his title and will miss the marquee event in Paris.
Inspired by the humility of fellow para shuttler Pramod Bhagat and the relentless dedication of star cricketer Virat Kohli, Nitesh began to rebuild his life.
Indian athletes accorded grand send-off ahead of Paralympics Games
'In the last few months, we have been pushing ourselves and training hard. Even in the pandemic, we continued to train under the guidance of Gaurav Khanna sir and never deterred from our focus.'
Asian Para Games bronze medallist Krishna, who had claimed two gold medals at the Dubai Para badminton International Championships in April, was also over the moon to know about his qualification.
Bhagat now has 11 medals, including six gold, two silver and three bronze medals in the world championships. He has the distinction of reaching the finals in all the editions, barring the 2007 and 2017 World Championships.
The Indian contingent has surpassed its previous record from the 2018 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China, with a total of 73 medals in the current edition.
India's shuttlers, led by Para World Championships bronze medallist Sukant Kadam, shone at the Peru Para Badminton International in Lima by clinching six gold medals.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually interacted with 10 athletes, including 2016 Rio edition gold winners Devendra Jhajharia and Mariyappan Thangavelu, and urged them to compete without pressure at the upcoming Tokyo Paralympics.
'If you are willing to shine like the sun, you must be willing to burn like it.'
In the last edition in 2014, India won 33 medals (3 gold, 14 silver, 16 bronze).
While Sharath is the lone Khel Ratna award recipient, a total of 25 athletes including shuttlers Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, woman boxer Nikhat Zareen, athletes Eldhose Paul, Avinash Sable have been nominated for the Arjuna Award this year.
TJ, Animesh Kujur enter TOPS developmental group; Pranati named for TAGG
Indian shuttler Tarun Dhillon missed out on a bronze medal after he faced a defeat at the hands of Indonesia's Fredy Setiawan in the men's singles SL4 event of the Tokyo Paralympics on Sunday.
Facing criticism for packing 22 tournaments in five months in its revised calendar, the Badminton World Federation on Wednesday said the disrupted Olympic qualification process will restart only next year with players having the benefit of holding on to the ranking points they have already secured.
Indian badminton stars Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were on Tuesday nominated for the Player Year of the Award by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Nitesh Kumar and Thulasimathi Murugesan had little difficulty overcoming country-mates Suhas Yathiraj and Palak Kohli in the opening group stage match of badminton mixed doubles
Tennis star Rohan Bopanna, who is set to be crowned world number one in the doubles format, was on Thursday selected for the prestigious Padma Shri honour by the government along with six other athletes including veteran squash player Joshna Chinappa.
In other India-related news, Manish Kaurav (KL3 men 200m) and Manjeet Singh (VL2 men 200m) made it to the finals of their respective events for the first time in the history of the tournament.
India has proposed to conduct all those disciplines that were axed from the 2026 Commonwealth Games to ensure that the country's medal tally is not affected when the event is held in Glasgow.
Nitesh Kumar and Sukant Kadam qualified for the semi-finals of the men's singles SL3 and SL4 categories respectively.
India have sent an 84-strong contingent of para-athletes, the largest ever in the country's history -- a heady mix of youth and experience, for the Paralympic Games, starting in Paris on Wednesday.
The Mission Olympic Cell is also considering higher incentives for retired Olympians and world-class players who want to take up coaching, in an effort to retain top talent within India.
Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha feels the axing of medal-yielding sports such as wrestling, hockey and badminton from the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games programme is "disappointing" for the country but the approach to reduce cost would ensure that the event continues to find hosts in future.
Olympic bronze-winning Indian men's hockey team captain Manpreet Singh was on Tuesday added to the list of Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awardees, taking the total number of this year's winners to an unparalleled 12.
A summary of Indian athletes' showing at the Paralympics, in Paris, on Monday, September 2.
India is hoping to win more than 25 medals from its largest-ever contingent of 84 athletes at the upcoming Paris Paralympic Games beginning on August 28
Suhas L Yathiraj along Manoj Sarkar on Friday qualified after the game's governing body BWF granted two bipartite quotas to India, making it a seven-member contingent at the Tokyo Games, beginning August 24.
Sharath is the lone Khel Ratna award recipient, 25 sportspersons, including shuttlers Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, woman boxer Nikhat Zareen, track and field athletes Eldhose Paul and Avinash Sable, were conferred with the Arjuna Award.
Sindhu will play her opening match on Sunday, while B Sai Praneeth and the men's pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will be in action on Saturday.
Bhagat will miss the upcoming Paris Paralympic Games after being suspended for 18 months for breaching the Badminton World Federation (BWF) anti-doping regulations.
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