Priya Bharti Indian para-badminton athlete; Pramod Bhagat, who recently won his gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics, giving India the first-ever badminton gold medal at the Paralympics. Pramod was born on 4 June 1988 and hails from the state of Bihar. 33-year-old Bhagat was born in Hajipur, Vaishali, Bihar state to Kailash Bhagat and Kusum Devi among his six siblings. He currently resides in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
Bhagat, who was diagnosed with polio at the age of 4, developed a defect in his left leg. Pramod became attracted to the game at the age of 13. His interest in sports turned into his passion and now his life. With proper dedication and attention towards footwork and fitness, he played his first tournament at the age of 15 against general category players. He also won a district-level competition. He was inspired to pursue his career as a badminton player and joined Para-Badminton in 2006. He started his career as a badminton coach but took a break in 2019 to focus on the Tokyo Paralympic qualification. Now he is one of the most recognized athletes in India. Moreover, Pramod is presently ranked as the world’s number one in Para-Badminton Men’s Singles SL3.
He is trained by his coach Shiba Prasad Das.
Currently, holding the first position On 4th September, Pramod won the men’s singles SL3 event badminton gold medal match against Daniel Bethel of Great Britain at the Tokyo Paralympics. He emerged as one of the best para sports-person in the country with 45 international medals.
His medal record includes Paralympics – 1 gold (Men’s Singles), World Championship – 4 Gold (2 Men’s Doubles, 2 Men’s) (Singles), 1 Silver (Men’s Doubles) and 1 Bronze (Men’s Singles), Asian Para Games – 1 Gold (Men’s Singles SL3) and 2 Bronze (Men’s Singles SL3, Men’s Doubles SL3-SL4, IWAS World Games – 2 Gold (Men’s Singles SL3, Men’s doubles SL3-SU5) and 1 silver (Men’s doubles SU5) and Asian Para-Badminton Championship – 2 Bronze (Men’s Singles SL3, Men’s Doubles) (SL3-SL4).
He won Arjuna Award and Biju Patnaik Sports Award, Odisha in 2019. Starting his journey from a small district of Bihar to the world-famous Tokyo Paralympics, Pramod has his own story of hard work and determination. His passion and Patience took him so far. He is setting and an inspiration to millions who are suspicious of pursuing their passion due to circumstances.
By- Priya Bharti (An Alumna of IIMC presently residing in Bihar).
