Para-athletes from all across the world are set to play their first tournament of the 2026 season with the 15th Para Badminton World Championships set to be held in Manama, Bahrain, from February 8 to 14. The Indian contingent has a total of 41 members participating in the event across six different categories, including 10 singles and 10 doubles events. At the end, only 22 para shuttlers take home the honorary titles.
The women’s category includes rising stars Thulasimathi Murugesan and Nithya Sre Sivan, who are aiming to win the first women’s singles gold since 2022. As part of the SU5 category, Thulasimathi and Manisha Ramadass are silver and bronze medalists of the Paris 2024 Paralympics, won in the women’s singles badminton SU5 class.
Meanwhile, India’s Sre Sivan defeated Indonesia’s Rina Marlina in straight games by sets of 21-14, 21-6. The win got India a bronze medal finish at the Paris Games in the women’s para badminton singles SH6 category.
Meanwhile, on the men’s side, three-time defending champion Pramod Bhagat will look to add one more gold to his tally. However, he has reigning Paralympic champion Nitesh Kumar, who is expected to be a tough competition for him. Participating in the SH6 category as the men’s defending champion, Krishna Nagar, who hasn’t been in good form, will aim to make a strong comeback in Bahrain.
Indian Squad of Para Badminton World Championship
WH1 Category – Prem Kumar Ale, Shashank Kumar, Poorna Chapara, Prema Vishwas, Pallavi K.M., Nirmala Devi
WH2 Category – Haris Srikumar, Manjunatha Chikkaiah, Abu Hubaida, Nurul Khan, Alphia James, Ruchi Trivedi, Ammu Mohan, Shabana
SL3 Category – Nitesh Kumar, Pramod Bhagat, Manoj Sarkar, Umesh Kumar, Mandeep Kaur, Neeraj, Manasi Joshi, Sanjana Kumari
SL4 Category – Naveen Sivakumar, Surya Kant Yadav, Sukant Kadam, Tarun Dhillon, Shivangi Pandey
SU5 Category – Hardik Makkar, Ruthick Ragupathi, Chirag Baretha, Manisha Ramadass, Thulasimathi Murugesan, Sarumathi, Shantiya, Viswanthan
SH6 Category – Krishna Nagar, Dhinagaran Pandurangan, Sudarshan Mutuhusamy, Sivarajan Solaimalai, Nithya Sivan, Rachana Patel
Where to Watch the Para Badminton World Championships 2026?
The live streaming of the Para Badminton World Championships 2026 will be done on the BWF Official YouTube Channel.
Schedule of Para Badminton World Championships 2026
· Group Stage (February 8-10)
· Pre-quarterfinal (February 10-11)
· Quarter-finals (February 12)
· Semi-finals (February 13)
· Finals (February 14)
