Krishna Nagar

Started: He took up badminton in 2014 and began playing seriously three years later. "At first, I didn't play badminton professionally. I watched, picked up things quickly and then tried them in a court in our garden against my friends. Towards the end of 2016, I started going to the Sawai Mansingh Stadium [in Jaipur, India] to play to stay fit and active. A few days after joining the stadium, I got to know about Para badminton through another Para shuttler who was in town for a few days." (sportstar.thehindu.com, 26 Jun 2023; olympics.bwfbadminton.com, 08 Feb 2020) Reason: He was encouraged to take up badminton by his cousin. "There were so many sports I couldn't do [at school] but I realised I could run fast so I would practise sprints all the time. Then I found badminton. I can jump really high and I run fast. It allows me to test my abilities to the fullest." (olympics.bwfbadminton.com, 08 Feb 2020) Ambition: To win gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. "I had to deal with a lot of issues after my mother passed away [in late 2021]. She was a big support for me when I won the gold medal in Tokyo 2020. I want to repeat the good work in Paris for her." (revsportz.in, 27 Feb 2024; timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 19 Jun 2023; BWF Facebook page, 07 Apr 2022) Milestones: He and Pramod Bhagat [SL3] became the first Indian badminton players to win a Paralympic gold medal in the sport when they claimed gold in their respective men's singles events at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) Awards: He and Pramod Bhagat were joint winners of the 2021 Times of India Sports Award in the Para badminton category. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 14 Oct 2022) In 2021 he received the Khel Ratna Award in India. (sportstar.thehindu.com, 26 Jun 2023)