Para shuttler Palak Kohli ineligible for 2026 World Para Badminton Championships

In a major blow to India's hopes, Palak Kohli has been ruled out of the 2026 BWF World Para Badminton Championships, which is slated to be held early next year.

The 23-year-old is deemed ineligible as her status in the list of invitees for the tournament is marked as R-NAO, which implies review at next available opportunity. Palak had won a bronze in women's singles at the 2024 World Championships in Pattaya.

Indian para-badminton team's head coach and Palak's mentor Gaurav Khanna told The Bridge: "Palak has undergone two surgeries post the Asian Championships. She suffered Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) and Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL). She underwent surgery in July and since the adhesions did not remove, the doctors performed another surgery in October. She is not in a position to play.

Palak has been out of action since she settled for a silver at the 2025 Asian Para Badminton Championships in Thailand. She was forced to retire in the third set due to a mid-game knee twist.

"The surgery is done on her tumored leg. So, the left part of the body, as per doctor, has got more sparsity. The recovery is slower due to her cancer-related condition. It’s a chronic issue, which is why classifiers will reassess her," Khanna added.

The big-ticket global tournament, which will be a curtain raiser for the season, is set to be held in Manama, Bahrain from 7 to 14 February, 2026.

Review of her classification?

Palak was the youngest in the badminton squad and the second youngest overall in the Indian contingent for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. She competed in the SU5 category for women’s singles and the SL3-SU5 category for women’s and mixed doubles.

All para athletes undergo classification, a system that groups athletes according to their impairment to ensure fair play and balance among participants.

When asked on the 'ineligible' status and the impact of surgeries on her classification, the coach said, “It means review on the next available opportunity. It’s not a new classification, it’s a review. A review means there may be adjustments, and when they assess her, they’ll assign whatever class reflects her condition at that time. After the surgery, they’ll evaluate her and decide which classification she falls under. When a player gets injured it is likely to increase or decrease the level of disability of a player.”

“We can only go through the review as soon as the doctor gives us a fitness certificate. It is hard to say when, it may take six months, eight months or more. Whenever she is fit, we will go for the review,” Khanna added.