India had mixed run on the penultimate day of the 2026 BWF Para-Badminton World Championships, winning 6 of the 14 semi-finals in Manama, Bahrain, on Friday.
The former Olympic Champion Pramod Bhagat was the star of the day for India, reaching the finals in both men’s singles SL3 and Men’s Doubles SL3-SL4 with Sukant Kadam.
Pramod and Sukant will face the fellow Indian pair of Jagadesh Dili and Naveen Sivakumar in the final on Saturday, confirming a double podium finish for India in this category.
Earlier in the day, the young Indian shuttlers, Naveen Sivakumar (Men’s Singles SL4), Nithya Sre Sivan (Women’s Singles SH6), and Manisha Ramadass (Women’s Singles SU5) also reached the final of their respective events.
First-ever wheelchair silver for India
The dream run of the Indian duo of Alphia James & Prem Kumar Ale came to an end against the Chinese pairing of Qu Zimo and Liu Yutong in XD WH1-WH2 Final.
However, the duo wrote their name in the history books by winning India’s first-ever silver medal at the BWF World Championships in the wheelchair section.
Heartbreak for Krishna, Nitesh
Two of India’s brightest athletes, Nitesh Kumar (Men’s Singles SL3) and Krishna Nagar (Men’s Singles SH6), faced defeat in their respective semi-finals.
Nitesh, the reigning Paralympics champion, lost in a tight three-game match to Indonesia’s Muh Al Imran, while Krishna fell short to Miles Krajewski of the USA to settle for the bronze medals.
The Asian Para Games champion Thulasimathi Muruguesan (WS SU5) also settled for a bronze medal after falling short to Paralympic Champion Yang Qiu Xia of China.
List of India’s bronze medallists at 2026 BWF Para-Badminton C’ships:
MS SL3 – Nitesh Kumar
MS SL4 – Sukant Kadam
MS SH6 – Krishna Nagar
WS SU5 – Thulasimathi Murugesan
MD SL3-SL4 – Umesh Vikram Kumar /Suryakant Yadav
WD SL3-SU5 – Manasi Joshi / Thulasimathi Murugesan
XD SL3-SU5 – Mandeep Kaur / Chirag Baretha
XD SH6 – Krishna Nagar / Nithya Sre Sivan
