Rajeev Bagga, a man of inborn deafness is an Indian badminton player, currently playing from Britain. He was born on 6th April 1967. He is hailing from Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Sports Career of Rajeev Bagga
Rajeev Bagga was an Indian national champion. He came into the limelight of badminton in Indian scenario after he attended the 1990 All England Open Badminton Championships. He is the only deaf person in the world to do so.
Rajeev Bagga has won 12 golds and has been in singles champion at the Deaf Olympics from 1989 to 2001, and was named "Deaflympian of the Century" by the Comite International des Sports des Sourds (International Committee of Deaf Sports) in the year 2001. In the year 1991, Rajeev Bagga won the prestigious Arjuna Award for his contribution in badminton.
Early Life of Rajeev Bagga
Rajeev Bagga comes from an army family. At 12 months after his birth, he lost his hearing forever after a severe bout of meningitis. His father, Brigadier 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 key badminton finals in the year 1981.
Initially, Rajeev Bagga used to prefer playing squash in India. In 1981, Rajeev won the sub-junior title in squash, when he was only 13 years old. He played in the Junior nationals for several years, and won the Maharashtra State Level Championship for Badminton five times in a row and eventually became national champion in 1991.
In 1990, Rajeev Bagga reached the main stage of Badminton in the All-England open, defeating the Korean player Ahen Chang in the third round of the qualification. Despite his deafness, Rajeev Bagga is also a notable doubles player, and won the national championships in 1997, partnering with Vinod Kumar, another badminton player.
Like most Indian badminton players, Rajeev Bagga had difficulties with sports officialdom. In the year 1993, his participation in the Deaflympics was not formalized by the Badminton Association of India and led to considerable controversy.
Rajeev Bagga remains active in sports arena and won the 2008 All-England veteran men`s singles. He narrowly missed his sixth Deaflympics gold in 2009. In the year 2003 and 2007, Rajeev Bagga won the gold medal in the men`s singles at the World Deaf Badminton Championships.
Rajeev Bagga is currently living in United Kingdom. He lives in Coventry in England, where he is badminton coach. He is married to Rita, also a deaf badminton player. They are blessed with a son named Rajit Bagga.
