Sukant Kadam (born 9 May 1993) is an Indian professional para-badminton player from Maharashtra, India. He competes in the men's singles SL4 category and has achieved the World No. 1 ranking in that category as of September 2025. He qualified to represent India at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris.
Early life and education
Kadam was born in Kautholi, Sangli, Maharashtra. He moved to Pune and completed his mechanical engineering at the Government College of Engineering and Research, Avasari Khurd, in 2015 with first class. He later trained at the Nikhil Kanetkar Badminton Academy under coaches Nikhil Kanetkar and Mayank Gole.
Career
Kadam made his international debut in 2014 at the England Para Badminton International. He became world number 2 in the SL4 category on 12 June 2017. He won a bronze medal in men's doubles SL3–SL4 at the Para Badminton Asian Championships in 2016. His first title came at the Uganda Para-Badminton International in 2017. He won bronze medals at the BWF Para Badminton World Championships in 2019 (Basel), 2022 (Tokyo), and 2024 (Pattaya), and a gold medal at the 2026 World Championships (Manama) in men's doubles with Pramod Bhagat. He also won bronze medals at the Asian Para Games in 2018 (Jakarta) and 2022 (Hangzhou).
At the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, he finished 4th in the men's singles SL4 category.
Rankings
- Highest ranking: World No. 1 in men's singles SL4 (1 September 2025); World No. 1 in men's doubles SL3–SL4 with Pramod Bhagat (18 July 2023)
- Current ranking (as of December 2025): World No. 3 in men's singles SL4; World No. 1 in men's doubles SL3–SL4 with Pramod Bhagat
Awards
- Shiv Chhatrapati Award (2017–2018) by the Government of Maharashtra
Personal life
Kadam worked as an assistant coach at Nikhil Kanetkar Badminton Academy from July 2015 to August 2018. After winning a bronze medal at the Asian Para Badminton Championship 2016, he was appointed as a Taluka Sports Officer (Group-II) by the Government of Maharashtra in January 2019.
