India have emerged as a force in Para badminton over the last few years, faring consistently well on the circuit. At the Para Badminton World Championships earlier this year, for instance, the Indians returned with 18 medals. With the Paris 2024 Olympic Games set to start shortly, there will be plenty of interest in whether the team can maintain its healthy returns from major events. Chief coach Gaurav Khanna, who since taking over in 2015, has overseen its transformation into a strong unit, talks about what has gone into making it a successful team and their goals for Paris.

India performed well at Tokyo 2020 with four medals, including two gold. What are your expectations for Paris 2024?

Para badminton made its debut in Tokyo and we did well. This time we will try to increase our share to eight-ten medals, including six gold medals. Our players are in good form and I believe they will do well. The court conditions are good, and BWF is doing an amazing job in setting a high level of competition. So our players will try to match these standards. We need to set targets for the results and I believe we can achieve this.

Has the profile of Para badminton in India grown since Tokyo 2020?

Everybody is passionate about the Olympics, and the public are keen to see and watch. Broadcasters and agencies are getting the show into every house, so that has definitely made an impact among people. Our players’ performances at Tokyo are on YouTube and people are still commenting on that. So yes, it has made a change and I fully believe that after Paris it will again double the excitement.

We have a training base now, we have talent hunt programmes, everybody got to know Para badminton after Tokyo 2020. Everyone wants to play badminton. Badminton is a glamour sport, people like to watch it, and it’s a test of all abilities. There’s a lot of coverage as well. So awareness has increased, and has motivated new players to come up and compete.

What is the national competitive system like?

When I became chief coach in 2015, we had around 150 players in our database. Now we have around 1200 players. Earlier, national championships used to have entries of 20 or 30, and no entries in some categories, but now we have nearly 700 entries overall; some categories are over 128, so we need qualification draws. We’ve had to increase the number of tournament days and courts.

After Tokyo, how did you ensure that the momentum didn’t drop?

You always need to think: what next? I remember that as soon as I went back from Tokyo, there was the Asian Youth Games in a few days. The youngsters were excited by the performance of the Indian team during Tokyo. To keep up the momentum we have youth programmes, talent hunt programmes, that we conduct by going to schools, to rehab centres, to hospitals, meeting (disabled) army people. That’s why we have been able to get a lot of new entrants taking up Para badminton.

We have collaborations with schools and universities. Our training is at Shakuntala University; it’s the first rehabilitation university in the country. There are all sorts of courses for the disabled. We have constructed a big badminton place with nine courts – three for wheelchair – a dedicated gym, customised machines for the disabled. We had a camp there before leaving for Paris.

The centre has a wheelchair hub and around 27 wheelchair athletes are now training there. When the young players see accomplished players training there, they try to copy the same style with the same zeal, and that keeps them motivated.

How challenging is it to provide support for all these players coming in?

The theory I try to impart is that it’s more important to be a good human being more than being a good player. So the achievers in the team support younger players. At the academy, poor players can start their journey free of cost. Senior players help out with resources. When youngsters become achievers, they help their juniors.

You have many players from different backgrounds. What counts is performance and the numbers. We are performing well, our numbers are high and the results are being recognised.

Also Read:

Paris 2024: Wheelchair Stars to Watch
Paris 2024: Standing Upper Stars to Watch 
Paris 2024: Standing Lower Stars to Watch
Paris 2024: Short Stature Stars to Watch