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Asian Para Games medallists raised concerns with sports authorities over coach Gaurav Khanna’s deleted post and its impact on athletes.
Nitesh Kumar with his medals at the Asian Para Games (Picture credit: Instagram @nitesh_kmar)
Medallists from India’s badminton contingent at the Asian Para Games have written a letter to authorities to ask for an inquiry into coach Gaurav Khanna, who posted a prediction about India’s expected number of medals from the Games, as well as which shuttler would end up with which colour.
In an email sent at 8.07 pm on Tuesday to Sports Ministry officials, the Sports Authority of India’s Executive Director division, the SAI Director General and the Badminton Association of India president and secretary general, the medallists raised concerns about the post and its potential impact on athletes competing in the tournament, according to a report in The Times of India.
As per the report, Khanna predicted on October 22, a day before the October 23 finals, forecasting 16 medals for India: two gold, six silver and eight bronze. He tipped Nitesh Kumar and Naveen Sivakumar to win gold in the men’s singles SL3 and SL4 categories.
Khanna predicted a silver for India’s SL3 representative.
India matched the coach’s forecast of 16 medals, but finished with three gold, five silver and eight bronze. Nitesh beat compatriot Pramod Bhagat in the men’s singles SL3 final, while debutant Naveen clinched gold in the SL4 category.
Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manasi Joshi exceeded Khanna’s prediction by winning gold in the women’s doubles SL3-SU5 event, despite being tipped for silver. Although Khanna deleted the post after the finals, the shuttlers had already taken note of it.
In their communication to sports authorities, the medallists questioned the appropriateness of predicting medal outcomes while an international competition was still in progress.
The shuttlers highlighted the potential embarrassment and pressure such predictions could cause athletes preparing for crucial finals.
The email expressed concern that the post could affect the morale of the Indian contingent as well, with athletes still competing in several finals and vying to win medals for the nation.
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Ask News18Medallists from India’s badminton contingent wrote to sports authorities to request an inquiry into coach Gaurav Khanna over a social media post predicting the team’s medal counts and specific colour outcomes while the Asian Para Games were still underway, raising concerns about athlete pressure and morale.
Ask News18October 27, 2026, 11:29 pm IST
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