India’s para badminton coach hits back after players seek action over medal prediction

India’s para badminton coach Gaurav Khanna has defended his now-deleted Asian Para Games medal prediction, rejecting allegations that it affected players’ morale and accusing those behind the criticism of trying to discredit him over his objections to team selection.

Khanna said the controversy surrounding his social media post was being used to divert attention from what he described as irregularities in the selection process. He claimed the allegations only came to light after he took his concerns to the authorities after the Games.

MEDAL PREDICTION SERIES

The post, which was briefly seen a day before the final, predicted that India would finish with 16 medals in para badminton, including two gold, six silver and eight bronze. India eventually equaled that total, winning three gold, five silver and eight bronze medals.

However, the medal tally was lower than India’s return of 21 medals (four gold, four silver and 13 bronze) at the 2022 Asian Para Games. Several players subsequently claimed that the prediction had put them under pressure during the competition and asked the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Sports Ministry to investigate Khanna’s conduct.

Khanna, who runs a badminton academy in Lucknow, said the criticism was not raised immediately after the post appeared and questioned the timing of the allegations.

“I am concerned that the public allegations that began on October 27, about a week after the briefly visible post, were intended to divert attention from the documented irregularities that I brought to the attention of higher authorities after the end of the Asian Games.

“The timing raises serious concerns that after those concerned came to know about my statements, they resorted to a misleading public narrative to discredit me and divert attention from the main issues,” he said in a statement to PTI.

The coach’s reaction follows criticism from India’s parabadminton chairman K Prabhakar Rao, who claimed the prediction had a negative psychological impact on the players. Rao also said that he would take up the matter with the Badminton Association of India (BAI) and seek appropriate action.

BHAGAT QUESTIONS POST

Six-time world champion Pramod Bhagat was among those who expressed displeasure at the post. Khanna predicted a silver medal for Bhagat, who finished second after losing to Nitesh Kumar in the SL3 final in Aichi-Nagoya.

Bhagat criticized the coach for naming individual athletes in his medal prediction on the eve of the competition, calling the move “extremely unprofessional and ethically wrong”.

“Such statements risk creating tension at a crucial stage when athletes need support, not further distraction,” he said.

Khanna responded by asking if Bhagat could have seen the post in the short time it was available, given that it was published late at night in Japan and deleted within minutes.

“The post appeared at around 21:00 IST on 22nd October 2026 and was deleted within 2-3 minutes…I was not asked about the post by the BAI Chairman or anyone else and there was no shouting and crying from 22nd to 27th October 2026.

“Furthermore, this corresponds to approximately 00:30 in Japan on October 23rd. If Pramod claims he was distracted by seeing this during that short period…when and how did he come to this, was he checking social media after midnight before his finals instead of resting and concentrating on the match scheduled hours later?” he asked.

CHOICE OF KHANNA FLAGS

Khanna also questioned the selection of the Indian team, claiming that several players with strong standing in Asia were overlooked despite submitting statements to the authorities.

“Why the Top-6 Asian players in the respective events Chirag Baretha-Ammu Mohan-Shashank Kumar and Manisha Patel were left out?…what action was taken based on the written statements of the deserving players?” he asked.

He further alleged that selection-related issues cost India the opportunity to add a medal and alleged that the technical aspects of the matter were not adequately explained to the authorities.

“I do not hesitate to say that even SAI and MYAS have made a mistake in trusting the narratives and perceptions set by the concerned administration.

“In my professional judgement, the lack of clarity on the technical aspects of SAI and MYAS has denied India at least four potential medal opportunities,” he said.

Khanna claimed that the criticism from Bhagat was also related to past disagreements, which he believes are now being used to target him.

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