Asian Games a litmus test for us with the Paralympics round the corner, says Pramod 

Pramod Bhagat

Para shuttler Pramod Bhagat, gold medallist in the last edition of Para Asian Games, and Sukant Kadam, team event bronze medallist, are determined to script ‘golden’ moments in the coming Para Asian Games.

In a chat with The Hindu, the champion duo of shuttlers shared their thoughts.

“These Asian Games are very important because they are a litmus test for us with the Paralympics just around the corner next year. They are always tough and I would like to retain my gold medal. I have been training hard and also staying in a positive state of mind about the games. The Asiad will be the first step towards preparing and qualifying for the Paris Paralympics,” Pramod explained.

“I always considered myself as the biggest challenge, it is important to be in the right frame of mind and train hard. A major challenge is to stay fit as I am competing in all three categories - singles, men’s doubles (partnering Sukant Kadam - both ranked World No. 1) and mixed doubles,” he said.

“ My coach Das sir and I have been working on certain strategies and game-plan and the focus will be implementing those while playing in the tournament. My strong-point is I don’t take things very seriously, be calm and composed, and enjoy my game,” he said.

“There are some really good players like India’s Nitesh Kumar, Manoj Sarkar, and Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara. There has been some new younger crop which has been doing well in the circuit,” Pramod said.

For his part, Sukant, playing in his second Asian Games, said he would play in the very competitive SL4 category.