Palak Kohli faces scrutiny over disability certificate, classification switch

Indian para-badminton player Palak Kohli’s disability classification documents have come under scrutiny after an email alleging discrepancies and gaps was sent to the Sports Ministry, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) last month.

The email and documents in possession of The Bridge suggest that the doctor's diagnosis sheet, issued for Palak's precondition on 12 January 2021 in Jalandhar, has limited details about the medical assessment.

The complainant, who chose to remain anonymous, questions the timing of this lower-limb disability certificate, which was issued seven months before the delayed Tokyo Paralympics held in August-September that year.

Hailing from Jalandhar, Punjab, Palak was born with an underdeveloped left arm and athletes with such disabilities usually compete in the SU5 category.

At the Tokyo Paralympics, Palak competed in the same SU5 category meant for athletes with upper limb disability while her documents suggested an additional lower-limb disability.

What the documents suggest?

Palak’s first disability certificate was issued in June 2017, when she was only 14. It states that she had a 70% permanent locomotor disability and specifies the affected area as “below elbow joint on left arm.”

Meanwhile, her second disability certificate also mentions a “70% permanent locomotor disability.” Issued a day after the diagnosis, the certificate mentions “70% disability in relation to her leg” but does not specify whether it was the right or left leg. Also, the certificate has no mention of her previously documented disability.

Additionally, the email and documents state that the diagnosis sheet does not mention the name of the doctors in the panel who examined her or provide detailed clinical observations. It also does not mention the type of disability or the affected body part, details usually included in such certificates.

Generally, there are three doctors in the panel who examine the applicant and give their observations on the nature and extent of the injury. 

The same set of documents were used to issue a Unique Disability ID (UDID) Card, an official national identity card issued to Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) by the Government of India, on the very same day i.e. 13 January 2021.

"Despite the UDID certificate for leg disability being issued on 13.01.2021, Ms. Palak Kohli continued to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games under the SU5 category, which relates to upper limb disability,” the complainant wrote in the email.

"This is a serious irregularity because medical certification for disability cannot be treated casually. It must be transparent, accountable, and properly recorded," the email points out.

The Bridge verified the authenticity of these documents on the official UDID website, which also states that Palak’s E-KYC is still pending and the UDID card clearly mentions ‘Invalid Aadhaar card’.

As defined under the UDID card rules, locomotor disability affects a person’s ability to walk, run, or move parts of their body independently. 

Moreover, if an athlete has both upper and lower limb deficiency, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) classifies them by evaluating which impairment has the primary functional impact on their badminton performance.

The classification question

The Tokyo Paralympics stint was one of the biggest highlights of Palak’s career, when aged 19, she became the youngest athlete of the then Indian contingent.

Palak competed in three events including singles (reaching the quarterfinals), women’s doubles with Parul Parmar (exiting in the group stages) and mixed doubles with Pramod Bhagat.

In the mixed doubles, Palak and Pramod, competing in the SL3-SU5 category, finished fourth after losing the bronze medal match to Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara and Akiko Sugino.

Three years later, after a leg surgery, Palak was reclassified from SU5 to SL4. She competed in women’s singles at the 2024 Paris Paralympics and the 2024 World Para Championships.

The email questions Palak’s switch to the SL4 category, citing videos from her Paris Paralympics matches in which she “appears to move freely on court”.

“There are also video clips available on YouTube and social media platforms where she appears to move freely on court while playing in the SL4 category. If an athlete is certified with 70% permanent leg locomotor disability, then the physical condition and movement should be examined by an independent medical and classification panel” the email adds.

The SL4 and SL3 category in para badminton is for athletes with lower limb impairments, which is what her disability certificate from 2021 also suggested.

A discrepancy in date of birth

The email further alleges discrepancies in her date of birth in official documents i.e. Palak's disability certificate and her Passport/Aadhar Card. While the year of birth remains the same in both, the date and month varies in the documents.

"The current UDID certificate records her date of birth as 01.01.2002, whereas her Passport and Aadhaar reflect 12.08.2002 as her date of birth. Such differences in important identity documents raise serious doubts about the integrity of the entire documentation process" the email read.

Notably, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) on June 17, 2023, issued a notification ‘Compilation of Classification Records’, which featured the names of 54 para athletes, including Palak. A copy of the notification is in possession of this publication.

The notification was issued to strengthen BAI’s classification database: “For the purpose of maintaining the complete database and records, all athletes who have classified on or after 1 January 2020 are required to provide their details,” the notification reads.

The Bridge reached out to BAI’s Joint Secretary Prabhakar Rao, who outrightly denied ownership, calling this is a technical matter and that it is the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) which looks into such details.

"There are two aspects, the medical part and the sports. BAI only looks into the sports part of it. On the current status, you can check with BWF," Rao said.

If these documents were reviewed by BAI, a key question remains: How did such a discrepancy go unnoticed, and who was responsible for verifying the authenticity and accuracy of the documents?

The Bridge also reached out to the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport’s world governing body, for clarity on Palak’s classification. “We will not be commenting on any player’s classification details,” said the BWF in response.

Where her classification stands now

Palak was ruled out of the 2026 BWF World Para Badminton Championships early this year. She was deemed ineligible as her classification status was marked as R-NAO, which implies review at the next available opportunity.

Palak has been out of action since the 2025 Asian Para Badminton Championships in Thailand, where she won silver in the SL4 category. She was forced to retire during the third set after twisting her knee.

Also, since the Asian Championships, she has undergone two surgeries.

"She suffered Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) and Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL). She underwent surgery in July and since the adhesions were not removed, the doctors performed another surgery in October. She is not in a position to play," her coach Gaurav Khanna had told The Bridge at the time.

Last month, Palak travelled to Brazil for a review of her classification. As per the latest BWF classification list, her status was listed as CNC (Classification Not Completed) on July 13, 2026.

TOPS support

Palak was inducted in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) in November 2020 along with her women's doubles para-badminton pair Parul Parmar for the Tokyo Paralympics, and was later elevated to the TOPS core group ahead of the Paris Paralympics in April 2024.

At the time of filing this report, there has been no action by the Sports Ministry, SAI or PCI. Currently, Palak is a part of the TOPS Core Group, under which athletes receive an out-of-pocket allowance of ₹50,000 per month.

The SAI Deputy Director, Arunlal Vilavil, who oversees operational and administrative functions for financial assistance for TOPS Athletes in Para Sports, declined to comment on the matter when contacted by The Bridge.

What do the officials say?

Palak’s long-time coach Gaurav Khanna has denied the allegations, saying “locomotive” is a vague term that can apply to both the upper and lower limbs.

"This is a technical matter. I am not the correct person. But to my knowledge, it is not like that. If it is there, like for example, locomotive disability is a vague term," Khanna told this publication over the phone.

"There was also a problem in her leg after the (Tokyo) Paralympics. There was also a lot of exertion in the Paralympics because she qualified in three events. We consulted with doctors and finally got her treatment done in Lucknow," he added.

When asked about Palak's second disability certificate made in January 2021, seven months before the Tokyo Paralympics, Khanna said, "No, no. It won't be like that. You must have misunderstood something else. I don't know. Actually, I have not seen the documents."

Calls and texts from The Bridge to Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) President Devendra Jhajharia went unanswered.

When contacted by this writer, Palak denied possessing a disability certificate in 2021 and that she made one in 2023 instead.

“The certificate and the card are made together. It was made in 2023. The certificate and the card don’t come separately in different years,” she said. Palak was unable to furnish the 2023 certificate to The Bridge at the time of publishing this report.

“I’m not sure if my father would know more about when the first disability certificate was made, because I was very small at the time. I made another one, I think, in 2023,” she added.

In October 2023, Palak along with her compatriot Jyoti Verma had filed a petition in court against fellow para-shuttler Vaishnavi Puneyani accusing her of forging her medical reports to earn a disability certificate and participate in the Asian Para Games.

Both Palak and Vaishnavi trained under Gaurav Khanna at the time.

With nearly 10,000 para-athletes competing nationwide across various disciplines, the episode raises a larger question: who should be responsible and accountable for ensuring proper checks and balances to prevent such discrepancies in the future?