Thinking like a pugilist is something four-time para badminton world champion Pramod Bhagat had taught himself to learn. Like a prizefighter of yore, Bhagat reckoned that no matter how shockingly success had slid from his grasp, opponents couldn’t be allowed to think they could defeat him easily when he resurfaced after serving a whereabouts-related anti-doping ban.
“I fought in the final at China, my first tournament on return, for 2 hours 10 minutes. I needed that title immediately because I couldn’t let other players think my domination was finished after being away for 1.5 years,” he said. After missing the Paris Paralympics as he was serving suspension, Bhagat is now back in the top 5 of singles in para badminton’s SL-3 category.
It wasn’t ‘aham’ (ego) as some might think it to be. But a large part of the Odia shuttler’s success has been based on maintaining that mental grip over opponents who know he simply won’t give up — not in a rally, not a match, a title, or his career. Afflicted by polio after a botched medical dose, Bhagat has endured far more dire pronouncements than throwaway obit lines of his game. On the court, like a boxer, he needed to regain his place under the sun. “As reassurance, and motivation,” he says.
In March of 2024, Bhagat was banned under a ‘whereabouts’ suspension, and he maintains it had been an electronic error where he filed his location details for dope testing, but it failed to upload. The Tokyo Paralympics gold medallist would not defend his crown, and took the punch to the gut.
“It’s been a challenging year and a half,” he says, calling it a ‘bada sadma’. Huge jolt. “It was a hard punishment for no mistake, and a struggle to miss the Paris Paralympics. But finally you have to accept and move forward,” he said.
The comeback implied charging back from oblivion, and playing circuit tournaments in China, Nigeria and Australia back to back, followed by Indonesia and Japan. The gap between two meets was often just 2 or 3 days, as he set about climbing rankings, collecting 10 gold medals, playing in all categories – singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles. Bhagat has reclaimed his doubles No 1 ranking, but is World No 5 in singles.
Playing back to back took a toll. “The thought process was good, but the muscle pain got unbearable, because I was desperate that I have to crack the top 5,” he says.
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Like happens in para sport with tech advancements, the world leapt ahead. “I was behind the rest of the world, strokes had changed, others were playing new, new techniques,” he says, explaining why it took him 130 long minutes to nail down the China title. (World record is 2 hrs 20 minutes, while the longest match Bhagat had played was 100 minutes).
“You learn to be humble when you fight back from the backmost row. I literally had to get reacquainted with techniques, training and playing styles,” he says.
In para-sport, everybody struggles, which in turn means no struggle is deemed exceptional. “Now I’ve made a team and we have put an alarm for 10 O’clock daily to ensure we fill out the whereabouts forms without fail. No excuses. It was a shock to my family too, and I paid a heavy price,” he says.
It’s back to badminton goals. “My all time idol is Lin Dan. He had 5 World Championships. I am on 5 (2009, 2015, 2019, 2022, 2024) too, and want to reach 6th and go past him in para. It won’t be easy at all. But I must fight,” he says, adding he owes himself that much.
