Paris 2024 Paralympics: With one eye on defending title, Krishna Nagar banks on tight-knit Indian contingent for support

India’s contingent for the Paris 2024 Paralympics will be its biggest one to date, with many athletes going to their first ever Games. Among a field of relative inexperience, one of the more accomplished heads making the trip to Paris is badminton player Krishna Nagar, who is out to defend his gold medal from the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Nagar became India’s second gold medallist in badminton at the Paralympics when he beat Hong Kong’s Chu Man Kai 21-17, 16-21, 21-17 to win gold in the men’s singles SH6 event in Tokyo.

Since then, he has added a silver medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games and gold in the 2024 BWF Para Badminton World Championships. All things considered, he will be a strong favourite to defend his medal in Paris.

But Nagar will not be complacent about his chances.

“The competition is bigger, there are a lot of players. The players are better, and the effort we put in will have to be double from before,” he told Sportstar via an online interview .

He has made some changes to his preparation in the build-up to Paris too. “The training for Paris is a lot better than before, and the training that is happening is in a better way, there are a few changes from before. Basically how to change the speed of the game, the way to change the pattern of the game. It’s a lot better than before.”

FILE PHOTO: In December 2021, the Jaipur-lad was also added to the core group of the Target Olympics Podium Schemes (TOPS), which has aided his preparations for the upcoming Games. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Nagar’s preparations for Paris encountered an unforeseen hitch when his coach, Yadvendra Singh, had his application for a visa denied. Nagar was keen to have Singh, with whom he had learned the game, by his side. “Taking him to the Paralympics is very important for me, as all of the training I have done in my hometown, in the SMS stadium, I have done with him,” Nagar said.

In a positive development though, Singh has now received his visa and Nagar will be able to call on him for support at the Paralympics.

The shuttler also reflects on the impact that Tokyo has had on his career. “After Tokyo, my life has totally changed. People recognise me, there are a lot of changes,” he says. “It’s a lot better. And financial issues have been resolved, it’s a lot better condition now.”

In December 2021, the Jaipur-lad was also added to the core group of the Target Olympics Podium Schemes (TOPS), which has aided his preparations for the upcoming Games. “Being in the TOPS scheme is a big thing for the player. The TOPS scheme means you’re under the support of the government,” Nagar said. “If we need anything, we can just go directly and ask, or send them a mail. Whatever we need is available on time.”

India’s 84-person-large contingent will be the biggest one going to a Paralympics thus far, and Nagar is acutely aware of the support that the contingent will be able to provide to each other. “Everyone meets and stays together comfortably. If you meet someone, you can easily chat with them. It’s not like the athletics ones are going around together, the badminton ones are going around together, nothing like that. Everyone knows each other. It’s better, sometimes athletics ones give help, sometimes badminton ones give help.”

India will have high hopes for Nagar, but he is not getting ahead of himself. His focus will be on staying calm and managing his emotions, saying, “Many times it happens that when you are playing such a big tournament, it’s about how you can control yourself, your emotions, that becomes more important. When you come into such a big tournament, you have to stay a little calm and play.”