India’s Pramod Bhagat won the Men’s Singles SL3 event badminton gold medal match against Great Britain’s Daniell Bethell at the Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday. This is India’s first medal in badminton at the Paralympics Games. Manoj Sarkar beat Daisuke Fujihara of Japan and clinched the Bronze medal in the same category.
#IND Pramod Bhagat looks promising. All set for the Golden Glory at #ParaBadminton #Gold medal Match LIVE ? https://t.co/oxkt1tU6vp pic.twitter.com/ekyfLWzEWC
— Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) September 4, 2021
So far, India has won 17 medals at the Paralympics – four gold, seven silver and six bronze medals.
Bhagat was 8 points behind in the second game before making a comeback and wrapping up the match 21-14, 21-17.
Manoj does it for ??! #IND's Manoj Sarkar bags the #Bronze medal in #ParaBadminton Men's Singles SL3, getting the better of #JPN's Daisuke Fujihara. ?
For the second time today, 2⃣ Indians make up the podium places. Wow. #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/CrW8NMBC3v
— Olympic Khel (@OlympicKhel) September 4, 2021
The 33-year-old Bhagat from Bhubaneswar also remains in contention for a bronze medal in mixed doubles SL3-SU5 class. Bhagat and his partner Palak Kohli will square off against Japanese pair of Daisuke Fujihara and Akiko Sugino in the bronze medal play off on Sunday.
They had lost the semifinals 3-21 15-21 to Indonesian combination of Hary Susanto and Leani Ratri Oktila earlier in the day.
Bhagat, who had contracted polio when he was 4 years old, picked up the sports after watching his neighbours play.
Initially, he competed against able-bodied players before getting into competitive para badminton in 2006.
HISTORY SCRIPTED ✍️?
?? Para shuttler and World No 1 @PramodBhagat83 creates history by winning #Gold medal on his debut appearance at the #Olympics for #TeamIndia after getting better of ??’s Bethell D in the MS SL3 category.@himantabiswa@AJAYKUM78068675#TokyoParalympic pic.twitter.com/a1QUzh612G
— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) September 4, 2021
He eventually emerged as 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 2018 Asian Para Games.
He also had started his career as a badminton coach but took a break in 2019 to focus on Tokyo Paralympics qualification.
Deepa Malik congratulates badminton stars
Heartiest congratulations to @PramodBhagat83 & @manojsarkar07 on the Gold & Bronze medal win! Our #Tokyo2020 tally is at 4 Gold, 7 Silver,6 Bronze now!?? #Praise4Para @narendramodi @ianuragthakur @NisithPramanik @Paralympics @PTI_News @ParalympicIndia @GauravParaCoach @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/b1llach40a
— Deepa Malik PLY (@DeepaAthlete) September 4, 2021
In 2019, he received the Arjuna Award and Biju Patnaik Award for Excellence in Sports in India.
India’s medal tally after two medals in badminton
Earlier in the day, Suhas Yathiraj and Krishna Nagar also sailed into the men’s singles finals of SL4 class and SH6 class respectively.
PM Modi congratulates gold-medallist Pramod Bhagat
Pramod Bhagat has won the hearts of the entire nation. He is a Champion, whose success will motivate millions. He showed remarkable resilience & determination. Congratulations to him for winning the Gold in Badminton. Best wishes to him for his future endeavours. @PramodBhagat83
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 4, 2021
PM Modi congratulates bronze-medallist Manoj Sarkar
Overjoyed by @manojsarkar07’s wonderful performance. Congrats to him for bringing home the prestigious Bronze Medal in badminton. Wishing in the very best for the times ahead. #Paralympics #Praise4Para
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 4, 2021
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