Background
His father, Brigadier South R Bagga, was an active racquet sportsman. His mother was also a state-level badminton player.
His father, Brigadier South R Bagga, was an active racquet sportsman. His mother was also a state-level badminton player.
He is profoundly deaf. Rajeev comes from an army family. At 12 months, he lost his hearing forever after a severe bout of meningitis.
Initially, Rajeev used to prefer playing squash.
Subsequently however, he moved to badminton where "eyesight would be more effective than hearing". 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.
Like most Indian players, he had difficulties with sports officialdom. In 1993 his participation in the Deaflympics was not formalized by the Badminton Association of India and led to considerable controversy.
He narrowly missed his sixth Deaflympics gold in 2009.
Impact of deafness on game
His game was affected by not being able to hear the linesmen"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 double"s 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 an United Kingdom citizen and lives in Coventry, England, where he is badminton coach.
He was Indian national champion, and reached main stage of the 1990 All England Open Badminton Championships, the only deaf person to do southern He has won 12 golds and been singles champion at the Deaflympics from 1989 to 2001, and was named "Deaflympian of the Century" by the Comité International des Sports des Sourds (International Committee of Deaf Sports) in 2001. In 1991, he won India"s highest sports honour, the Arjuna award. In 1981 he won the sub-junior title in squash (at age 13). He played in the Junior nationals for several years, and won the Maharashtra state level championship five times in a row, and eventually became national champion in 1991. Despite his deafness, Bagga is also a notable doubles player, and won the national championships in 1997, partnering with Vinod Kumar. He remains active in sports, and won the 2008 All-England veteran men"s singles (over 40). 2003 and 2007 he won the gold medal in the men"s singles at the World Deaf Badminton Championships.
