Overview
- Origin
- Paralympic debut, Tokyo 2020
- Category
- Para
- Olympic discipline
- No
- Paralympic discipline
- Yes
- Central pathway
- TOPS eligible
- Athlete profiles on SportSupport
- 20
Governance and status
Each field below is shown only where we hold a source for it; anything else reads “Not currently verified” rather than a guess. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition is granted year by year, so it is only ever shown with the year it applies to. Last reviewed: September 2026.
- Indian governing/organising body
- Paralympic Committee of India
- Ministry recognition
- Paralympic Committee of India — Annual recognition renewed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — as at 2026Source: Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — List of recognised National Sports Federations
- International federation
- Not currently verified
- Khelo India inclusion
- Not currently verified
- TOPS eligibility
- In scope — TOPS covers Paralympic medal prospects
- Olympic status
- Not on the Olympic programme
- Paralympic status
- On the Paris 2024 Paralympic programme (Para Badminton)Source: International Paralympic Committee — Paris 2024 Paralympic Games — sports (2024)
Para Badminton is listed on SportSupport in the para category. Its recorded origin is Paralympic debut, Tokyo 2020. Para disciplines are contested at the Paralympic Games, not the Olympic Games. Para Badminton was on the Paris 2024 Paralympic programme. (Source: International Paralympic Committee — Paris 2024 Paralympic Games — sports: https://www.paralympic.org/paris-2024/sports) We list Paralympic Committee of India as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.
Para Badminton is on the pathway that runs through India's national sports federations to the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), with selection running through Paralympic Committee of India against its published benchmarks. Being on this pathway is not itself a statement that the discipline is currently in TOPS — TOPS covers a Core Group and a Development Group chosen by the Mission Olympic Cell.
Scholarships & Funding
Central, state and private scholarships available for para badminton athletes in India.
- Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID)
Monthly stipend (₹10,000 for selected Khelo India athletes), boarding, coaching and kit at accredited centres for talent identified through the Khelo India selection process (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports). Applies only to disciplines on the official Khelo India Games list, and only to athletes it selects.
- Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)
Central government scheme covering training, foreign exposure, equipment and an out-of-pocket allowance (up to ₹50,000/month) for athletes inducted by the Mission Olympic Cell. TOPS covers a Core Group and a Development Group of disciplines rather than every Olympic sport, and induction is decided athlete by athlete; we hold no current list confirming whether para badminton is among the covered disciplines.
- National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports fund used to sponsor elite athletes' training, foreign coaches and equipment. Allocations are made case by case; we hold no record of NSDF support specific to para badminton.
- Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons
Lifetime monthly pension (₹20,000 for Olympic/World/Asian/CWG medallists; scaled by tier) for retired internationals who meet the scheme's medal criteria — Government of India.
Indian Players
20 profiles- Abu HubaidaUttar Pradesh
Abu Hubaida (born 10 July 1994) is an Indian professional para badminton player. He made his international debut in 2016. He won his 1st international title for his country when he won a gold & a bronze medal in Uganda Para-Badminton International in 2017.
- Krishna NagarRajasthan
Krishna Nagar (born 2 January 1999) is an Indian para badminton player from Rajasthan. He had been ranked world number 2 in para-badminton men's Singles SH6. He won a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
- Kumar NiteshRajasthan
Nitesh Kumar (born 30 December 1994) is an Indian para-badminton player. He won a gold at the 2024 Paris Paralympics in the men's singles SL3 category. He is a two-time silver and one-time bronze medalist at the World Championships.
- Manasi Girishchandra JoshiGujarat
Manasi Joshi (born 11 June 1989) is an Indian para-badminton player. She is a former world champion in para badminton women's singles SL3 category. 1 in women's singles SL3 category.
- Mandeep KaurIndia
Mandeep Kaur (born 18 September 1995) is an Indian para athlete from Uttarakhand. She won two bronze medals at the 2022 Asian Para Games. She claimed bronze in Badminton women's double in the SL3 category along with Manisha Ramadass on 27 October 2023 at Hangzhou, China.
- Manisha RamadassTamil Nadu
Manisha Ramadass (born 27 January 2005) is an Indian para-badminton player. She is the current World number 1 in the Women's singles SU5 category. She won the bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.
- Manoj SarkarUttarakhand
Manoj Sarkar (born 12 January 1990) is an Indian para-badminton player who lives in Rudrapur City, which is a small city in Uttarakhand, India. He has won 50 international medals in which he have 19 gold medals, 13 silver medals & 18 bronze medals. He is the only Arjun Awardee and Para Olympian Bronze medalist from Uttarakhand.
- Munna KhalidUttar Pradesh
Munna Khalid is an Indian para-badminton athlete.
- Neeraj GeorgeIndia
Neeraj George, also known as Neeraj George Baby, is an Indian mountaineer and para badminton player from Aluva, Kerala. George climbed Kilimanjaro on crutches. Working as an employee in Advocate General office Kerala, George participated in many national and international Para-Badminton tournaments.
- Nilesh GaikwadMaharashtra
Nilesh Balu Gaikwad (born 10 June 1996) is an Indian para badminton player. He made his international debut in the Uganda Para-Badminton International in 2017, where he won first place in the men's doubles. He reached a career-high ranking of 4 in May 2022.
- Nithya Sre SivanTamil Nadu
Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan (born 7 January 2005) is an Indian para-badminton player from Tamil Nadu. She plays in the SH6 category (athletes having achondroplasia and short stature). She represented India at the 2024 Summer Paralympics, where she won the bronze medal in the women's singles SH6 event.
- Palak KohliPunjab
Palak Kohli (born 12 August 2002) is an Indian professional para-badminton player from Jalandhar.
- Pramod BhagatBihar
- Prem Kumar AleMaharashtra
Prem Kumar Ale (born 26 September 1987) is an Indian ex-army soldier and a professional para badminton player. He made his international debut in 2014. In 2018, he became the national champion of men's singles and men's doubles with his doubles partner Abu Hubaida.
- Raj KumarPunjab
Raj Kumar is an Indian para-badminton player from Punjab. He had been ranked world number one in para-badminton men's doubles SU5 in 2019.
- Sivarajan SolaimalaiIndia
Sivarajan Solaimalai (born 5 October 1995) is a para badminton player from Tamil Nadu. He qualified to represent India at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in the singles SH6 and mixed doubles SH6 badminton events in Paris. He represented India at the 2022 Asian Para Games at Hangzhou, China and won a bronze medal in the doubles SH6 event along with Krishna Nagar.
- Suhas Lalinakere YathirajKarnataka
- Sukant KadamMaharashtra
Sukant Kadam (born 9 May 1993) is an Indian professional para-badminton player from Maharashtra. He qualified to represent India at the 2024 Summer Paralympics at Paris. He completes in men's singles SL4 category.
- Tarun DhillonHaryana
Tarun Dhillon (born 18 August 1994) is an Indian para badminton player from Haryana. He competes in the SL4 category. He qualified to represent India at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, his second Olympics.
- Thulasimathi MurugesanTamil Nadu
Thulasimathi Murugesan (born 11 April 2002) is a badminton paralympian from Tamil Nadu. She represented India at the 2022 Asian Para Games held at Gangzhou, China. She won three medals in para badminton competitions, SL3-SU5 and SU5 classes.
Rules
Played on a standard badminton court with the playing area varying by class. There are six Paralympic classes: WH1 and WH2 for wheelchair athletes, SL3 and SL4 for standing athletes with lower limb impairment, SU5 for standing athletes with upper limb impairment, and SH6 for athletes of short stature. WH1, WH2 and SL3 events use only half the court width; SL4, SU5 and SH6 use the full court. Matches are the best of three games to 21 points under rally scoring, win by two, capped at 30. Wheelchair players must remain seated throughout the stroke — lifting off the seat is a fault.
Authoritative rulebook: Paralympic Committee of India. Age-group and school-level variations are published by SGFI and the state associations each season.
Positions
Typical roles across para sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced para badminton squad list.
- CompetitorAthlete who takes part in the para badminton event under Paralympic Committee of India rules.
- CoachFederation-certified coach responsible for training and match-day decisions.
- Match officialReferee, umpire or judge who officiates the event.
Equipment
Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in para badminton at a federation-recognised event.
- Badminton racket
- Shuttlecock (feather or synthetic)
- Sport wheelchair for WH1 and WH2 classes
- Prosthesis permitted in standing classes
- Non-marking court shoes
Governing/organising body
Paralympic Committee of India is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body for Para Badminton. Its recognition status as we hold it: Annual recognition renewed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (as at 2026). Recognition is granted year by year, so read the federation profile for the source.
- Origin
- Paralympic debut, Tokyo 2020
- Olympic
- No
- Paralympic
- Yes
- Category
- Para
Major Indian Events
Domestic competitions we hold a source for in para badminton.
- National Para Badminton Championships
Run under the Paralympic Committee of India with Badminton Association of India support, contested across the six Paralympic classes — SL3 and SL4 for standing players with lower limb impairment, SU5 for upper limb impairment, SH6 for short stature, and WH1 and WH2 for wheelchair athletes.
International Events
Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in para badminton.
- Paralympic Games
Para badminton made its Paralympic debut at Tokyo 2020, where India won two golds through Pramod Bhagat (SL3) and Krishna Nagar (SH6), plus a Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj silver and Manoj Sarkar bronze. At Paris 2024 India took five medals — Nitesh Kumar gold in men's singles SL3, silvers for Suhas Yathiraj (SL4) and Thulasimathi Murugesan (SU5), and bronzes for Manisha Ramadass (SU5) and Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan (SH6). Tokyo champion Pramod Bhagat missed Paris while serving an 18-month suspension for anti-doping whereabouts failures.
- BWF Para Badminton World Championships
India is consistently among the leading nations, and the depth shown at Paris — medals across four different classes — reflects a broad rather than single-athlete programme.
Leagues
No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for para badminton. The national championship under Paralympic Committee of India remains the top domestic competition.
All leagues →International Players
Globally recognised para badminton athletes to know outside India.
The international federation for para badminton maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.
Career Options
Ways to build a career in para badminton — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.
- Para badminton is India's second most successful Paralympic sport after para athletics, and unusually its medals come from many athletes across several classification classes rather than one or two stars
- Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj, a two-time Paralympic silver medallist, is a serving IAS officer who has competed while holding District Magistrate postings — a demonstration that the sport's elite pathway can run alongside a full professional career
- Classification is the gateway: athletes must be assessed into SL3, SL4, SU5, SH6, WH1 or WH2 before entering sanctioned competition, and the class determines court size and service rules
- Pathway runs through PCI state units and national championships into TOPS support and the BWF international circuit
Related academies
0 listedNo para badminton academies are catalogued in the directory yet. Browse the full academy list or list your academy to appear here.
Government Schemes
1 listedCentral and state schemes that fund training, stipends and awards for para badminton athletes and academies.
All government schemes →FAQs
Common questions about para badminton in India.
Who governs Para Badminton in India?▾
We list Paralympic Committee of India as the Indian governing/organising body for Para Badminton, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group and state-level competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement that it is currently a recognised national sports federation — recognition is granted year by year.
Is Para Badminton an Olympic sport?▾
No. Para Badminton is a para discipline, and para disciplines are contested at the Paralympic Games, not the Olympic Games. Athletes selected by Paralympic Committee of India against its published criteria can be considered for TOPS funding, which covers Paralympic medal prospects.
How do I start playing Para Badminton in India?▾
The usual routes are a school team under the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), a college team under the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), or a private academy affiliated to your state association under Paralympic Committee of India. Age-group state championships follow from there.
What government schemes support Para Badminton athletes?▾
TOPS supports a Core Group and a Development Group of disciplines selected by the Mission Olympic Cell, rather than every Olympic sport. We hold no current list confirming whether Para Badminton is among them, so we make no TOPS claim for it. State governments give cash awards to medallists at events they notify. Para Badminton does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list, so we make no Khelo India claim for it.
Para Badminton in every state & UT
Dedicated pages for Para Badminton in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.
- Para Badminton in Andhra Pradesh
- Para Badminton in Arunachal Pradesh
- Para Badminton in Assam
- Para Badminton in Bihar
- Para Badminton in Chhattisgarh
- Para Badminton in Goa
- Para Badminton in Gujarat
- Para Badminton in Haryana
- Para Badminton in Himachal Pradesh
- Para Badminton in Jharkhand
- Para Badminton in Karnataka
- Para Badminton in Kerala
- Para Badminton in Madhya Pradesh
- Para Badminton in Maharashtra
- Para Badminton in Manipur
- Para Badminton in Meghalaya
- Para Badminton in Mizoram
- Para Badminton in Nagaland
- Para Badminton in Odisha
- Para Badminton in Punjab
- Para Badminton in Rajasthan
- Para Badminton in Sikkim
- Para Badminton in Tamil Nadu
- Para Badminton in Telangana
- Para Badminton in Tripura
- Para Badminton in Uttar Pradesh
- Para Badminton in Uttarakhand
- Para Badminton in West Bengal
- Para Badminton in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
- Para Badminton in Chandigarh
- Para Badminton in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu
- Para Badminton in Delhi
- Para Badminton in Jammu & Kashmir
- Para Badminton in Ladakh
- Para Badminton in Lakshadweep
- Para Badminton in Puducherry