Badminton News: For Krishna Nagar, home is where the heart is. Para badminton players are required to attend national camps but Jaipur is a happy place for him.

Krishna Nagar was born in the capital of Rajasthan in 1999 and has since lived in Pratap Nagar, one of the largest residential areas in the city. “I’m very lucky. I keep in touch with my childhood friends and we’re all there for each other,” he said.

The creation of Nagar, the Paralympic champion, also started from there.

“Initially, I did not play badminton professionally. I watched, grabbed things quickly, then courted him in our park against my friends. Towards the end of 2016, I started going to Sawai Mansingh Stadium to play to stay fit and active,” he said.

Krishna Nagar, who was diagnosed with dwarfism at the age of two, added: “A few days after joining the stadium, I discovered para-badminton through another para-badminton player. badminton who was in town for a few days.”

Nagar 4’5″ trains under Coach Yadvendra Singh and his journey as a para-athlete began with two gold medals (singles and doubles) at the 2018 National Championships in Varanasi.

Three years later, under the tutelage of India’s para-badminton head coach and award-winning Dronacharya Gaurav Khanna, the then world number 2 made history by becoming the country’s second player to win Paralympic gold in racquet sport after Pramod Bhagat in Tokyo.

Southpaw Nagar beat Chu Man Kai of Hong Kong 21-17, 16-21, 21-17 in the SH6 men’s singles final for short players due to a genetic condition. He is one of 12 players to receive the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna 2021 award.

In March 2022, he returned to action in Spain, where he played several tournaments before heading to his next destination – Bahrain. “I went to Bahrain, I had acne and a slight fever. At that time, I didn’t know if it was chickenpox,” he recalls.

From Bahrain, Krishna Nagar traveled for his next tournament in Dubai but was forced to pull out without playing a match and return home as his symptoms worsened. He mentioned that it took him almost two and a half months to recover and as a result his grades dropped.

Krishna Nagar feels his opponent has improved since Tokyo 2020. “After the event, all the players trained hard. Competition is increasing in all categories,” he said. To improve his game, Nagar, a natural offensive player, focused on longer rallies, bringing more variety to his shots and remaining patient on the court.

And he has already set his next goal, the Mission Paris 2024 qualifier. “I got my rhythm back and I’m trying to improve my ranking,” said Nagar, who won bronze in Thailand, silver in Bahrain and more recently gold in Canada. . singles this year and doubles as well. On June 20, she was ranked No. 5 in the world and third in qualifying for next year’s Paralympic Games.

“I want to qualify quickly for the Paralympic Games next year. If I was in the top five[de la Race to Paris]it would be safe for me. Asian Games and World Championships are coming soon. Both are part of Paralympic qualification and points earned from these events are added together. So they are important,” he concluded.

Article Tags: Krishna Nagar, Paris 2024 Paralympic Games