Rajeev Bagga (born 6 April 1967) is an Indian born deaf

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

player, who represents Britain. He was Indian national champion, and reached main stage of the 1990 All England Open Badminton Championships, the only deaf person to do so. He has won 12 golds and been singles champion at the

Deaflympics The Deaflympics also known as Deaflympiad (previously called World Games for the Deaf, and International Games for the Deaf) are a periodic series of multi-sport events sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at which Deaf athlet ...

from 1989 to 2001, and was named 'Deaflympian of the Century' by the

Comité International des Sports des Sourds Comité International des Sports des Sourds (CISS) is the apex body organizing international sports events for the deaf, particularly the Deaflympics (previously called World Games for the Deaf). It is also called the International Committee of Sp ...

(International Committee of Deaf Sports) in 2001. In 1991, he won India's highest sports honour, the

Arjuna award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

Life

Rajeev comes from an army family. At 12 months, he lost his hearing forever after a severe bout of

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

. His father,

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

S R Bagga, was an active racquet sportsman. His mother was also a state-level badminton player. His brother and sister are also sportsmen, his brother having played at the national level in squash, and also defeated him in a key badminton finals in 1981. Initially, Rajeev used to prefer playing squash. In 1981 he won the sub-junior title in squash (at age 13). Subsequently, however, he moved to badminton where "eyesight would be more effective than hearing". He played in the Junior nationals for several years, and won the

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

state level championship five times in a row, and eventually became national champion in 1991. In 1990, he reached the main stage of the All-England open, defeating the Korean player Ahen Chang in the third round of the qualification. Despite his deafness, Bagga is also a notable doubles player, and won the national championships in 1997, partnering with Vinod Kumar. Like most Indian players, he had difficulties with sports officialdom. In 1993 his participation in the

was not formalized by the

Badminton Association of India Badminton Association of India (BAI) is the governing body of badminton in India. BAI is an association registered under the societies act. It was formed in 1934, and has been holding national-level tournaments in India since 1936. BAI has 28 ...

and led to considerable controversy. He remains active in sports, and won the 2008 All-England veteran men's singles (over 40). He narrowly missed his sixth Deaflympics gold in 2009. 2003 and 2007 he won the gold medal in the men's singles at the World Deaf Badminton Championships.

Impact of deafness on game

His game was affected by not being able to hear the line judge's or umpire's calls. Particularly difficult for him is knowing the score. In one match, he had been mentally counting the score, and thought it had reached 15. As he started walking to the other side, the umpire drew his attention that the match was not over; the score was then 13, and not 15. Representing the national team or in other team situations, the coaches' exhortations would be completely lost to him. In doubles matches, he cannot hear the shouts of the partner. In one match, the players were being called by the umpire. Though he was present in the arena, he could not hear, and the umpire had decided the match as a default before he could realize.

Personal life

Rajeev is currently a UK citizen and lives in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where he is a badminton coach. He is married to Rita (née Mistry) and they have a son together named Rajit Bagga.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagga, Rajeev Indian male badminton players English male badminton players Deaf badminton players Indian national badminton champions Living people 1967 births Indian deaf people Recipients of the Arjuna Award