How 'bechaari' Palak Kohli romped to Tokyo Paralympics

Palak Kohli

On the day when teenage shuttler Palak Kohli qualified for the Tokyo Paralympics, all that she emphatically recalled was how a "seven to eight minutes" meeting in 2016 changed her life forever.

Kohli, 18, qualified for Tokyo Paralympics in both singles (SU5, Standing/upper limb impairment category) and doubles events. The Jalandhar lass made it to Tokyo on the basis of her ranking. Kohli is World No. 12 in singles and No. 5 in doubles where she will pair with Parul Parmar.

Kohli's left arm is under-developed since birth. She can't thank her coach Gaurav Khanna enough for showing her a future in para-badminton.

"My parents and I were coming out from a mall in Jalandhar when I met sir. I was used to it by then with people often asking me what happened to my hand and they would sympathise with me. A disability that is visible hurts more. I never liked being viewed a bechaari (one whom people feel sorry for).

"So, when I met sir, he told me that I can try para-badminton and I have a great future and career. Till then, I had never heard about para-sports. He just said this much and left," Kohli told mid-day.com from a national camp in Lucknow.

A year later, Kohli's parents began a frantic search on social media to trace the person who they had met outside the mall as their daughter was keen to take up badminton. Being left out of the handball selection trials in her school triggered Kohli to take up sports.

"Everyone from our class had to participate in it. I was with my friends in the queue but my teacher took me aside and said it is better I just concentrate on academics and not think of playing sport. If I hurt my other hand, I would have nothing then. I felt horrible that day," Kohli said.

"I did not share the anger and pain with my parents as I knew I have to find a way to deal with such situations. I decided to focus on badminton and the search for that person whom I met began. We looked on social media and finally managed to source out sir's contact. Thereafter, my life has changed. I can't believe what I have been able to achieve all this in just three years," a thrilled Kohli said.
Coach Khanna set shorter goals for Kohli and smartly planned her international itinerary, which would not be too heavy on her pocket.

In her debut national championship in 2019, Kohli swept all titles---women's singles, doubles and girls U-19.

Later that year Kohli suffered a bone marrow setback, forcing her to stay away from any action for at least three months.

Kohli, in April, returned to competitive sport and won a silver in singles, and a bronze in doubles and mixed doubles events at the Dubai Para Badminton tournament.

"Ever since the confirmation of Tokyo Paralympics, we have swung into action with focussed planning and practice," she concluded.

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