Para shuttlers Sukant Kadam & Pramod Bhagat rise to top spot in men's doubles rankings

The duo won gold in the Brazil Para-Badminton international.

Para shuttlers Sukant Kadam and Pramod Bhagat are the current top-ranked duo in the world in the BWF (Badminton World Federation) men’s doubles category released on Wednesday. The Indian pair won the gold medal in the recently concluded Brazil Para-Badminton International enabling them to rise to the top.

Pramod and Sukant have been playing together in the SL 3-SL 4 category for the past year. The duo won three three gold medals in the previous three tournaments (Brazil Para-Badminton International 2023, Spanish Para-Badminton International 2023, and Thailand Para-Badminton 2023) showing good consistency on the global stage.

Apart from winning gold in the men's doubles, Pramod Bhagat claimed the second spot in the men’s singles (SL3) losing to countrymate Nitesh Kumar in the final (12-21, 13-21). Sukant Kadam too won the silver medal in the men’s singles section (SL 4) losing to Tarun in the final (21-16, 19-21, 21-12).

Performance at Brazil Para-Badminton International

R1 - beats Nilesh Balu Gaikwad / Manoj Sarkar (21-11, 21-12)

R2 - beats Breno Johann / Leonardo Zuffo (21-14, 21-8)

R3 - beats Pablo Cesar Cueto / Patricio Andres Exheverria Olave (21-6, 21-7)

Quarterfinals - beats Renzo Diquez Bances Moralez / Pedro Pablo De Vinatea (21-10, 21-14)

Semifinals - beats Nitesh Kumar / Tarun (21-17, 21-16)

Final - beats Joo Dong Jae / Shin Kyung Hwan (22-20, 21-19)

The WR 1, did not lose a single set in the whole tournament and the duo is currently on a 12-match winning streak (since the start of 2023). 

Veteran Pramod Bhagat’s Overall Achievements

Tokyo Paralympic Games 2020 - Gold Medal

World Championships - Gold Medal (2013, 2015, 2019, 2022) and Silver Medal (2015 and 2022)

IWAS World Games - Gold Medal (2019) and Silver Medal (2019)

Para Asian Games - Gold Medal (2018) and Bronze Medal (2014 and 2018)

Asian Championships - Bronze Medal (2016)