Just a week before the Asian Para Games 2026 in Japan, Manisha Ramadass stepped onto a badminton court for the first time in two months.
It wasn’t even a proper training session, just some light knocking. A knee cartilage injury had kept her off court, and doctors had initially wanted her out for six months.
“I was like, no, Asian Para Games is coming up. I have to play anyway because it’s a four-year span and I don’t want to miss,” she says, in an exclusive interview with Sports Now.
WATCH FULL INTERVIEW: MANISHA RAMADASS
She returned home with two bronze medals in singles and mixed doubles.
“There were no expectations from my side or anyone’s side,” she says. “My parents were the happiest because no one expected me to bring a medal.”
The world No. 2 isn’t totally satisfied, though. She won the opening game in both semifinals before losing. In mixed doubles, she and Pramod Bhagat fell to a vastly experienced pair. In singles, fatigue caught up with her against Thulasimathi Murugesan.
“I could feel that my fitness level was dropping,” she admits.
“I was not able to focus much because I was mostly focused on my knee.”
For Manisha, sport came first in her life; badminton came later. Growing up in Tamil Nadu, she played football, table tennis and anything else on offer. She collected so many medals at school sports meets that her teachers urged her parents to let her specialise. She picked badminton at nine, inspired by Saina Nehwal’s bronze at the 2012 London Olympics.
“I wanted to be like her.”
Initially, she competed in the able-bodied category until her coach’s friend introduced her to para badminton in 2019. She began competing in it in 2022. Her disability, she says, never changed her approach and how she saw herself.
“I just enjoyed playing sport and playing tournaments, training and everything,” she says.
The road was harder on her family, though. In a middle-class household, where few encouraged her, her parents carried the weight.
“My dad had to leave his job so that he could travel with me, and my mom was always there to support me,” she says.
“Without my parents’ support, I don’t think I would be anywhere close to where I am today.”
Money was tight until her international debut in Spain in 2022, where she won gold. Olympic Gold Quest contacted her soon and has backed her since.
Later that year, at 17, she clinched the world title in Tokyo and was named BWF Para Player of the Year.
“Just one win felt so good that I wanted to keep winning,” she says.
A Paralympic bronze followed in Paris in 2024. For her, that milestone is ‘more of a proud moment than pressure.’
Her fiercest rival is also a friend. Thulasimathi recently overtook her at world No. 1, and the two meet constantly in competitions.
“We are definitely rivals on court and friends off the court. It’s like a frenemy kind of thing,” Manisha says.
Before a tough match, she rewatches past meetings to see where she won and lost points, then talks it through with her coach.
Right now, the rankings can wait. Manisha has been managing the injury for a year and a half. “My priority is to recover properly,” she says.
The bigger target is LA Paralympics 2028.
“I am looking forward to winning gold,” she says.
Having returned home from Japan, she is currently at home with family. Lately, she has been reading and playing table tennis on her break.
Her advice to young para athletes is what worked for her as a child. “Just enjoy the sport, whichever you are taking,” she says.
“Putting lots of pressure, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”