Quick Facts
Biography
Nikhar Garg (born 1 February 1995) is an Indian male badminton player.
Early life and education
Garg was born and brought up in Navi Mumbai, Maharashta. He is currently doing his graduation in engineering from Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute, Mumbai.
Career
Garg made his international debut for Bahrain in September 2013 at the Sushant Chipalkatti Memorial India Junior International Badminton Championship held in Pune, Maharashtra but failed to live up to the expectations losing in the qualifying rounds of the Men's Singles event. Garg's sluggish form continued in the successive Tata Open India International Challenge 2013 where he once again lost in the initial rounds.
Nikhar's first taste of success at the international level was in December 2013, when he reached the semi finals of the Men's Doubles event in the 2013 Bahrain Junior International Series.
Garg, later returned to play under the Indian flag in 2014 and played his first super series event for India in June 2016. Appearing in the 2016 Australian Super Series, he and his doubles partner M. Anilkumar Raju lost to the eighth seeded Malaysian pair of Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong in the round of 32.
Other Activities
A defensive player on the badminton court, Nikhar Garg is equally aggressive off-court and never misses an opportunity to criticize the Badminton Association of India and the Badminton World Federation with his strong statements in support of the players. Garg was the whistle blower in a shocking incident which occurred in January 2015, where the Badminton Association of India sent 46-year-old Tarn Taran senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manmohan Sharma and former referee 49-year-old Apinder Sabharwal for an international tournament in Iceland.
Garg had also started an online petition in May 2016 requesting the Badminton World Federation to grant greater autonomy to the independent players by allowing them to register directly for international tournaments rather than doing the registration through their member associations. Garg may not be among the top players in the world today, but he continues to enjoy lot of popularity among the badminton fraternity. In February 2017, Garg, through his social media account, expressed his desire to contest election to the 2017 Athletes' Commission of Badminton World Federation.