Pramod Bhagat, creating a historical moment in the history of India, clinched the first-ever Paralympics gold in Badminton on the 11th day of the Tokyo Paralympics. With badminton making its debut at the Paralympics this year, Bhagat, defeated Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell with a scorecard of 21-14, 21-17 in the finale of the men’s singles SL3 category.
Pramod Bhagat: top seed player
Bhagat, at the age of 4 years, contracted polio. Before contesting in para-badminton in 2016, he played against able-bodied players. He is one of the best para shuttlers in the country with 45 international medals under his belt, including four world championship gold medals and a gold and a bronze in the 2018 Asian Para Games.
Pramod started his career as a badminton coach but took a break in 2019 to focus on the Tokyo Paralympics qualification. He was awarded Arjuna Award and Biju Patnaik Award for Excellence in Sports in India in 2019.
After clinching gold in badminton for India, he said, “This is very special to me, it’s my dream come true. Bethell really pushed me but I just kept my calm and played to my strengths.”
“I would like to dedicate this to my parents and to everyone who has supported me throughout. I’m glad I could make India proud,” Bhagat added.
11th day of Paralympics
However, the 11th day of the Paralympics is worth remembering as it has witnessed multiple medals for India, including two golds. While Pramod Bhagat went on to make India proud by clinching gold for India in badminton, Indian shooters Manish Narwal and Singhraj Adhana clinched the gold and silver medal respectively in the P4 – Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 final.
The 19-year-old Manish, with 218.2 points, created the Paralympic record to secure the gold, while Singhraj won his second medal of the Tokyo Paralympics with 216.7 points. With Manoj Sarkar’s fight to win bronze, it was a remarkable day for India in Tokyo Paralympics 2020. Also, Yathiraj and Krishna Nagar assured India of two more medals as they reached the finale.
India’s historical performance in Tokyo Paralympics 2020
Earlier reported by TFI, India won only 12 medals in its 61-year history of participating in the Paralympics before Tokyo 2020.
Read more: India wins more Paralympic medals in 2021 than it did in 61 years. What changed?
But, the 54-member contingent, this year, has managed to surpass the number with 19 medals including 5 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze medals. From Bhavina Patel, the first Indian woman medallist of Tokyo edition to Pramod Bhagat, who recently won gold in Badminton, the whole team has contributed towards glorifying India in Tokyo Paralympics 2020. These athletes, with their par performance in Tokyo, have once again shown that we are only limited by the societal constructs and the boundaries erected by our minds.
The “Khelo India” programme has contributed efficiently towards the improvement of the sporting scene in India. The programme launched with a budget of Rs. 97.52 crore, has been working wonders for India and it can be seen with India’s performance in Tokyo Paralympics 2020.