Hard work, big dreams: Karunakaran’s journey to badminton glory in 2025

Badminton is one of the more underrated sports on the planet. Similar to tennis, there are twists, turns, and unexpected plays that happen all the time. For Sathish Karunakaran, the journey to becoming a badminton star was not a common one.

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A tough road

Simply getting to this stage is important for Karunakaran. Coming from India’s Bharathiar University, he acknowledged that it isn’t common for big-time players to emerge from his country.

He has credited his participation in the FISU Games, not to mention any of the other international competitions he participates in, to the Dream Sports Foundation. The organization is dedicated to making the Indian sports ecosystem stronger by addressing critical gaps.

After his most recent finish, Karunakaran noted that their contributions were key in his getting to this stage. With continued support, Karunakaran hopes to take his game to the next level and become a dominant name on the worldwide stage.

Bronze finish

At the Westenergie Sporthalle on July 20, the most recent badminton event came to an end. When all was said and done, Karunakaran walked away with the bronze medal as part of the Indian team in the mixed team medal event.

The semifinal match loss to Chinese Taipei, a 3-1 result, is something that Karunakaran felt bittersweet about, but he remains optimistic. Though he felt that he could have done more and perhaps changed the result but at the same time, he is happy to have come so far.

Chinese Taipei would ultimately go on to the mixed team final, losing to the People’s Republic of China 3-1. The Republic of Korea would capture the second bronze medal. At the end of the day, Karunakaran may have walked away with the brightest future. He no doubt has the 2026 FISU World University Games ahead of him.

A bright future

Karunakaran has shown the potential to be a major player on the global stage, showing serious success in the BWF International Challenge/Series. He won at the 2022 Cameroon International and 2023 India International in men’s singles, while winning mixed doubles at the 2023 Maldives International and Indian International.

As he continues to hone his game, Karunakaran will look to expand his game both in doubles and singles. India’s third-place finish in the 2025 Summer World University Games is a positive sign and shows that the game is taking hold at a deeper level in India.

At 24 years old, Karaunakaran is just getting started. He had a dominant run in 2024, winning mixed doubles at the Iran Fajr International, Azerbaijan International, and Uganda International with partner Aadya Variyath. What the remainder of 2025 holds for him remains to be seen.