Palak Kohli born on 2002-08-12 in Jalandhar, India.
Education :
Language Spoken : English
Coach : Gaurav Khanna [club, national]
In June 2022 she underwent surgery to remove a bone tumour in her left ankle. She returned to international competition in April 2023. (indiatoday.in, 24 Dec 2023; lifestyle.livemint.com, 26 Apr 2023; hindustantimes.com, 11 Jun 2022)
In 2019 she was diagnosed with a bone marrow edema in her left tibia and had to take a three-month break. The problem continued to affect her into 2021, but she was able to compete at that year’s Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (indiatoday.in, 24 Dec 2023; lifestyle.livemint.com, 20 Apr 2021)
She took up Para badminton at age 14. (tribuneindia.com, 03 Dec 2019)
Reason: She took up Para badminton after she was left out of her school’s handball team due to her impairment. “I was once coming out of a mall [in 2016] and was told by a man about Para sports, particularly Para badminton. He said I should give it a shot. That world was completely new to us and I didn’t give it a second thought. He went his way and we went our way. [Being left out of her school’s handball team] was very disappointing for me. On the one hand, I had a complete stranger asking me to try out something called Para sports, while on the other a teacher from my school was forcing me not to play any sports. Her reasoning was simple, I might end up injuring myself more if I play. Then there was no looking back. Whatever I used to face in the society and at school. I would never share these with my parents. I just told them that I wanted to start playing Para badminton, and they were very surprised. I insisted and they gave in. Later I realised that the stranger was none other than Gaurav Khanna, our national Para badminton coach. My father had a chat with him and we came down to Lucknow [to join coach Khanna’s badminton academy] to kick-start my career in the sport.” (hindustantimes.com, 18 Jun 2021; thebridge.in, 01 Jun 2021; lifestyle.livemint.com, 20 Apr 2021)
Ambition: To win a gold medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 02 Mar 2022)
Milestones:
Training:
Influence: Coach Gaurav Khanna. (Instagram profile, 05 Sep 2023)
Philosophy: “People who told me I’m not cut out for sports are the same people who clap when I win a medal. Concentrate and focus on your dreams, shut out the negative comments and everything will be possible.” (Facebook page, 10 Jul 2021)
Award:
| Rank | Event | Year | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paralympic Games | ||||
| 4 | Doubles SL3-SU5 | 2020 | Tokyo, JPN | |
| 5 | Singles SU5 | 2020 | Tokyo, JPN | |
| 5 | Doubles SL3-SU5 | 2020 | Tokyo, JPN | |
| NDSF Royal Cliff Beach BWF Para Badminton World Ch | ||||
| 3 | Singles SL4 | 2024 | Pattaya, THA | |
| 5 | Doubles SL3-SU5 | 2019 | Basel, SUI | |
| 9 | Singles SU5 | 2019 | Basel, SUI | |
| Asian Para Games | ||||
| 10 | Singles SL4 | 2022 | Hangzhou, CHN | |
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