Indian shuttler Pramod Bhagat beat Daniel Bethell of Great Britain in badminton men’s singles SL3 to win a gold medal for the country in the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday.
Further, Manoj Sarkar clinched a bronze medal in the men’s singles SL3 badminton event, beating Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara.
In SL3 classification, athletes with lower limb impairment are allowed to compete.
With badminton making its debut at the Paralympics this year, Bhagat, the current world number 1, thus became the first Indian to win a gold medal in the sport.
He prevailed 21-14 21-17 over second-seeded Bethell in a final that lasted 45 minutes at the Yoyogi National Stadium.
“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,” said Bhagat after wining India’s fourth gold medal in the ongoing Tokyo Games.
“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 said he had a strategy in place for his rival.
“I played the same opponent in Japan two years ago and I lost. That was a learning opportunity for me. Today it was the same stadium and the same environment, and I devised a strategy to win. I was very determined.”
Following this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated both Bhagat and Sarkar.
More medals are in store for India as Suhas Yathiraj and Krishna Nagar also sailed into the men’s singles finals of SL4 class and SH6 class respectively.
Tarun Dhillon too stayed in contention for a bronze after losing his semifinals earlier in the day.
In SL4 class, Suhas outwitted Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan 21-9 21-15 in the first semifinal.
The 38-year-old, who has an impairment in one of his ankles, will face top seed Lucas Mazur of France in the final on Sunday.
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