On Thursday, February 12, Indian para shuttlers showcased some thrilling performances at the ongoing 2026 BWF Para Badminton World Championships, winning 15 medals held at Manama, Bahrain. Out of 15, 14 of them were won in individual categories, while one came from the wheelchair section, which was a major highlight. The mixed doubles pair of Prem Kumar Ale and Alphia James created history after securing India’s first-ever finals appearance in that section.
The duo of Prem and Alphia made a dominant run in the mixed doubles wheelchair event after defeating the World No.1 pair of Jaime Aranguiz and Man-Kei To in straight sets of 21-14, 21-15. With the win, the duo sealed themselves a podium finish and a confirmed medal in that category for India after 12 years in World Championship history. The record was previously held by Sanjeev Kumar, who won a bronze medal in the men’s doubles WH2 category.
Alphia (WS WH2) had also paired with Shashank Kumar (MS WH1), but the duo lost their campaign in the quarter-finals match. Later in the WH1-WH2 Women’s Doubles category, Alphia paired with Pallavi but suffered an exit in the quarterfinals against a Chinese pair.
Besides, only three Indian para shuttlers have earned their qualification in the women’s singles semi-finals. The list includes names like Manisha Ramadass (SU5), Thulasimathi Murugesan (SU5) and Nithya Sre Sivan (SH6). Murugesan had also paired with Manasi Joshi, where the two booked their spot in the women’s doubles SL3-SU5 semi-finals after defeating Mandeep Kaur and Manisha.
Meanwhile, the two medals for India came from the mixed doubles events. The winning pairs include Chirag Baretha and Mandeep for SL3-SU5, while Krishna Nagar and Nithya won in the SH6 category.
For India, the men’s doubles SL3-SL4 category was a success in which they got three semi-finalist spots. It started with the top seeds pairing of Pramod Bhagat and Sukant Kadam, who defeated Korea’s Joo Dong Jae and Shin Kyung Hwan in the quarterfinals. The run continued with the duo of Umesh Vikram Kumar and Surya Kant Yadav and followed by the second seeds Jagadesh Dili and Naveen Sivakumar.
The men’s singles category of SL3 and SL4 sections also ended in success, with two players from each category securing their spot in the semi-finals. The SL3 semi-finalists include three-time defending champion Pramod Bhagat, reigning Paralympic champion Nitesh Kumar, while Sukant Kadam and Naveen Sivakumar take the SL4 spots.
