Tokyo: The Indian Paralympics kitty witnessed the addition of another Gold after top-seeded Indian World and Asian Champion Paralympic Shuttler, Pramod Bhagat staged a commendable fightback against Daniel Bethell in Men’s Single SL3. Cruising past Danielle, Pramod scored 21-14 clinching Gold for the nation. The match lasted for 45 minutes where Pramod sparked through the first 21 minutes and paced against the opponent in the next 24 minutes.
Pramod contracted polio when he was 5 years old and has proved to be one of the best para shuttlers in the country holding nearly 45 International Medals under his name which included four golds for the world championship and a gold and bronze in the 2018 Asian Para Games.
In the meanwhile, Manoj Sarkar swept off Daisuke Fujihara in the Men’s Singles SL3 securing third in the race. Defeating Daisuke, Manoj scored 22-20 to honour India with its 17th medal. Sarkar contracted polio at the age of 1 and displayed great resiliency during the win over Fujihara.
With Badminton making its debut at the event this year, Bhagat became the first Indian to win a gold medal in the sport. He started his career as a badminton coach but took a break in 2019 to focus on the Paralympics qualification. In the same year, he was awarded the Arjuna Award and the Biju Patnaik Award for Excellence in Sports in India. Manoj Sarkar was awarded a gold medal in the 2016 Asian Championship and received a Para Sportsman of the year award in 2019.
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