Can And Able
As we sign off 2020, two para-badminton players tell us how they put aside their leg defects and took off as world toppers
When we set up the photoshoot for two para- athletes, we hardly imagined them to be shopaholics! But top para- badminton players Pramod Bhagat and Sukant Kadam arrive in the studio with shopping bags.
“We have been training in the camp in Lucknow, and we could not miss the chance to upgrade our wardrobe in Delhi!” says Sukant. Pramod, who has previously shot in badminton courts and outdoors in parks and stadiums, is super excited about his first glam fashion shoot with HT Brunch.
The boys are a tad nervous at the start but soon, with real sportsman spirit, they not only try on all the outfits we have sourced for them, but also do their signature badminton moves to add flavour to the photoshoot. And, in fact, it was with this approach – of turning a photoshoot into a ball – that they also treated the year 2020, not to mention their lives.
RISE AND SHINE
Pr a mod ,31, who hails from At tab ira in Odis ha’ s Bargarh district, is ranked world number one in para-badminton for men’s singles and doubles. The five times world champion was bestowed with the Arjuna Award and the Biju Patnaik Sports Award, Odisha, last year. He also bagged two golds and one silver for India at the IWAS World Games, 2019, and secured a bronze at the BWF Para-Badminton World Championships in 2017. Plus, at Basel, Switzerland, 2019, he won two gold medals and at Asian Games in Jakarta, 2018, he won one gold and one bronze. With 101
“I HAD TO PROVE THAT BEING A DISABLED ATHLETE, I CANNOT JUST COMPETE WITH ABLEBODIED ATHLETES BUT ALSO SURPASS THEM!”
—PRAMOD BHAGAT
medals on his chest, nobody can tell he had developed polio on his left leg at age five.
Similarly, three years after he made his international debut, Sukant, 27, became world number two in the SL4 category in 2017. He secured his first title at the Uganda Para-Badminton International 2017. Sukant was born and raised in Kautholi, a small town in Sangli, Maharashtra, and is presently at the fifth position in the world para-badminton space.
Last year, he won gold at the IWAS World Games and got the Shiv Chhatrapati Award,
in Maharashtra. Besides, at World Para- Badminton Championship 2019 in Basel, Switzerland and at Asian Para Games 2018 he got a bronze each.
For differently abled athletes, Paralympic Games are a key international sports competition. These are governed by the Germany- based International Paralympic Committee, founded in 1989.
ODDS ASIDE
Pramod shares that the biggest challenge for him was to change people’s notions about differently abled athletes. He says: “I had to prove that being a disabled athlete, I cannot just compete with ablebodied athletes, but also surpass them. I had small financial crises, which I ignored and moved ahead.” Pramod’s journey as a para-athlete began as an observer. For one year, he simply sat outside the badminton court and watched the others play. “I’d study the game and focus. When I saw them play, I’d say to myself, ‘why not me’ and took it up as a challenge, and got good results too!” says Pramod.
“When I first won the title of world number one in 2009, at the age of 18-19 in South Korea, and saw the Indian flag raised there, I felt
IN THE BEGINNING, PEOPLE PITIED ME FOR MY DISABILITY AND DOUBTED IF AT ALL I’D BE ABLE TO COMPETE”
—PRAMOD BHAGAT
extremely proud and happy to be able to achieve something for my country,” shares Pramod, who had chosen cricket earlier on as “it is a popular game in India. However, my thinking changed in 2002 and I started playing badminton. I had problems in the beginning because people pitied me for my disability and doubted if at all I’d be able to compete. But I saw that perspective as a challenge and took it up as a warrior. In the entire badminton community, para- and able-bodied, nobody has been a five-time world champion! I have been able to do that through self-confidence and hard work and I’m now a motivator to sportspeople and aspiring para-athletes!” he asserts.
Similarly, his view of the year 2020 is not a negative one. Pramod says: “Ups and downs are part of life and this pandemic allowed everybody to take a break from the mad bustle and give time to the family. I utilised this time to work on my weaknesses – I researched them and am working hard to overcome them to be able to grab the gold in 2021 championships. I lost my mother last month, and my dad in 2005, but I’m very close to my six siblings and spend as much time as I can with them.”
BIRDS OF A FEATHER
No wonder that Sukant looks up to Pramod for motivation. “I met Pramod in Odisha at an open national tournament for the first time and he was a big star there. I had been following his career trajectory, but when I interacted with him, he was very humble and was appreciative of my performance,” he says.
Sukant’s journey too came with odds. In the first year of college, because of his slow movement that had resulted from an injury to hisleft knee, his class badminton team rejected him and suggested that he opt for indoor sports. “I took it as a challenge, practised a lot and started beating them in college and then playing with other able-bodied players in Pune, and it was a very good experience for me,” he recalls.
“And in 2012, when Saina Nehwal won bronze in London Olympics, I felt I could also take the sport ahead. I saw her on the podium and began to visualise myself there,” he adds.
His first struggle was to catch up with the sport. “I got to know about para-badminton at the age of 19 or 20. It was very late for me to start a sport and I lagged behind in comparison to other athletes. Another challenge was to convince my family and relatives that I could do the same thing as able-bodied athletes and would put in the same dedication.”
Sukant had to convince them that there was actually something called parasports and para-athletes were making a name for India. His father wanted him to do engineering instead. “But I smiled in response to their questions and my results have given them their answer,” he smiles.
When he started playing, it was difficult to find a good coach as
IN 2012, WHEN SAINA NEHWAL WON BRONZE IN THE LONDON OLYMPICS, I FELT I COULD ALSO TAKE THE SPORT AHEAD”
—SUKANT KADAM
para-sports were virtually unknown at the time.“I found out that the only Olympian from Maharashtra was Nikhil Kanetkar and contacted him on social media. He said he’d give me a 10-day trial. I offered to coach young kids and earn on the side,” says Sukant.
He looks at 2020 on the same lines. “You can’t think about what you have lost, you have to make space in your life for new things to come. Maybe they are right there but you need to identify them,” he says.
“When I learnt Paralympics were postponed this year, just when parabadminton was to debut there, I utilised this time to work hard on my mental training to make myself tougher for difficult moments on the court. For example, I saw video recordings of my matches to see where I’m lacking,” he explains.