Tokyo Paralympics: Pramod Bhagat wins first ever badminton gold for India

Indian shuttler Pramod Bhagat clinched the Men’s Singles SL3 event badminton gold medal match against Great Britain’s Daniell Bethell by 2-0 at the Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday. This is India’s first medal in badminton at the Paralympics Games.

Battling it out in the court, Bhagat was 8 points behind in the second game before making a comeback and wrapping up the match 21-14, 21-17 that lasted 45 minutes at the Yoyogi National Stadium.

With badminton making its debut at the Paralympics this year, Bhagat, thus became the first Indian to win a gold medal in the sport.

The 33-year-old also remains in contention for a bronze medal in mixed doubles SL3-SU5 class semi-final match. The duo of Pramod Bhagat and Palak Kohli will clash with Daisuke Fujihara and Akiko Sugino of Japan in the bronze medal match.

Earlier in the day, Kohli and Bhagat lost by 2-0 in the mixed doubles. The number one seed Leani Ratri Oktila and Hary Susanto of Indonesia defeated the Indians in straight sets by 21-3 and 21-15 in just 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the shuttler for clinching a Gold medal at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics. The Prime Minister said Bhagat’s success will motivate millions.

“Pramod Bhagat has won the hearts of the entire nation. He is a Champion, whose success will motivate millions. He showed remarkable resilience and determination. Congratulations to him for winning the Gold in Badminton. Best wishes to him for his future endeavours,” tweeted Prime Minister Modi.

So far, India has won 17 medals at the Paralympics – four gold, seven silver and six bronze medals.