Gaurav Khanna claims social media account was hacked amid para badminton row

Indian para badminton coach Gaurav Khanna has hit back at allegations that he deflated the players' morale at the recent Asian Para Games with a social media post, saying that the charge is nothing but "a misleading public narrative" to discredit him for raising "documented irregularities" in selection issues.

He, however, claimed later that his social media account was hacked, meaning thereby that he did not write the now-deleted controversial post.

"A post appeared on my social media account on night of 22nd (October), around 9:00 (pm). It remained online for approximately three minutes before my team noticed it. My mobile phone and social media accounts had been compromised. I submitted reports to concerned authorities," Khanna told PTI.

Khanna initially did not reveal that someone had published the controversial social media post without his permission, simply slamming his detractors.

The controversy centres on Khanna's now-deleted social media post which had predicted that India would finish with fewer medals than it had won in 2022 edition of the Games. A day before the finals, he wrote India would win 16 medals, including two gold, six silver and eight bronze. India eventually won exactly 16 medals (three gold, five silver, eight bronze).

India had won 21 para badminton medals (4 gold, 4 silver, 13 bronze) in 2022 Asian Para Games. The players alleged that they felt severe pressure because of the post and sought an enquiry against Khanna from Sports Authority of India and Sports Ministry.

Khanna, who currently runs a badminton academy in Lucknow, said the accusations against him were levelled several days after the finals and were meant to distract the authorities after he raised the issue of selection-related discrepancies.

"I'm concerned that the public accusations, which began on 27 October, around one week after the briefly visible post were intended to divert attention from the documented irregularities I had raised with higher authorities after Asian Para Games concluded.

"The timing raises a serious concern that, upon learning of my representations, those concerned resorted to misleading public narrative to discredit me and shift attention away from the main issues," he said in a statement to PTI.

His response came after India's para badminton chairman K Prabhakar Rao criticised Khanna's post, alleging that it put athletes under psychological pressure, and said he would raise the matter with Badminton Association of India (BAI) for appropriate action.

Pramod Bhagat, a six-time world champion, had been predicted by Khanna to win silver. Bhagat eventually finished second after losing to Nitesh Kumar in SL3 final.

Bhagat said Khanna acted in an "extremely unprofessional and ethically wrong" manner by publishing medal statements by name a day before the conclusion of Games.

"Statements like these risk creating tension at a crucial stage when athletes need support, not additional distractions," he had said.

Khanna retorted to the charge by questioning Bhagat's routine before the big match.

"The post appeared at approximately 9pm IST on 22 October 2026 and was deleted within 2–3 minutes...Neither BAI Chairman nor anyone else asked me about the post and there was no hue and cry from 22nd to 27th October, 2026.

"Moreover, this corresponds to approximately 12:30 am in Japan on 23 October. If Pramod claims to have been disturbed by seeing it during that brief period...when and how he accessed it, whether he was viewing social media after midnight before his final, instead of resting and focusing on a match scheduled a few hours later?" he asked.

Khanna said some deserving players had been left out of the squad for the Games and he is being targetted for raising this issue.

"Why were Asian Top-Six players in respective events Chirag Baretha-Ammu Mohan–Shashank Kumar and Manisha Patel left out?...what action was taken on deserving players' written representations?" he asked.

"I have no hesitation in saying that even SAI and MYAS made a mistake by trusting the narratives and perceptions set by concerned administration.

"In my professional assessment, the failure to clarify the technical aspects to SAI and MYAS denied India at least four potential medal opportunities," he alleged.

Describing Bhagat's allegations as misleading, Khanna said "past disagreements" are being used to settle scores now.

Earlier this month, Chirag Baretha, alongside fellow para-shuttlers Shashank Kumar, Ammu Mohan and Manisha Patel, had filed a petition before the Delhi High Court over their non-selection.

It was after all the four para-shuttlers were omitted from the final squad despite meeting official qualification criteria and holding top-six Asian rankings in their respective events.

Khanna claimed that the selection process was manipulated to accommodate Rakesh Pandey through the bipartite quota, inappropriate doubles combinations and questionable selection decisions, while deserving players were allegedly denied opportunities to represent India.

"Rakesh Pandey had a four-year doping-related ban (2021–2025). He had no ranking in either singles or doubles. Despite this, his name was secretly included in bipartite selection quota for Asian Games," he said.

"I objected to this around August 18, but the respective authorities went ahead with the nomination ignoring the technicalities. Once Rakesh's name was included, he needed a doubles partner as per Badminton Asia's conditions. The authorities attempted to accommodate him by changing player combinations.

"... established players were asked to accommodate a player who did not have necessary ranking or performance. Previously Hardik Makkar then Umesh Vikram Kumar was included without consent. Vikram is a singles player, was entered into doubles event alongside Rakesh."

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