Para shuttler Sukant Kadam more than just happy after National triumph

Shuttler Sukant Kadam with his National Para Badminton Championship gold medal

After becoming the men's singles champion in the SL4 category at the National Para Badminton Championship in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, World No.4 Sukant Kadam, wants to do well at the Asian Games and World Championships next year.

Last week, the second seed defeated World No.2 and top seed Tarun Dhillon from Haryana 21- 12, 19-21, 21-18 to win gold in SL4 category.

Kadam told www.mid-day.com that the win is special considering this was the first time he won against Dhillon in the six times they played each other. Earlier this year, he won silver in men's singles at the Dubai

Para-Badminton International and won a gold at the Uganda International in 2017. "I have never been a singles National champion and so winning gold means a lot to me," revealed Kadam, a mechanical engineer from Government College Of Engineering And Research, Avasari Khurd (near Pune).

Kadam, who won bronze at the 2019 Para Badminton World Championships, said he was not sure if he should take up sports professionally after he completed his mechanical engineering in 2014. "After engineering, I was confused to choose between education, corporate job and badminton. I think managing sports and education is very important for an athlete, as sports is not going to be there for your entire life. Education also helps a lot in sports. Personally, education is as important as sports," remarked the Shiv Chhatrapati awardee. Talking about his short-term and long-term goals, Kadam said: "My short-term goal for 2022 is to do well in various tournaments I play. I need to be consistent in my performance to ensure I am able to maintain my rankings. World rankings do matter since it is not easy to earn qualification at World Championships or Asian Games without them. The first international tournament I play next year is in March [in Spain]. Coming to my long-term goal, giving my best at the Asian Games and World Championships is something I want as both tournaments are very important. It's also the main year for me as qualification for the Paris Olympics will begin," Kadam, who is a Taluka Sports Officer in Pune, told www.mid-day.com.

Kadam's humble upbringing has played an important role in his success. He said: "My father [Indukant] is a farmer [in Kautholi area of Sangli district] and mother [Shalan] is a housewife. My brother [Shrikant] works in a private company. My father still does farming and I stay grounded because of my roots."