Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today congratulated Odia boy Pramod Bhagat who became the first badminton player from India to win a gold medal at the Olympics or Paralympic Games.
ସ୍ବର୍ଣ୍ଣିମ ମୁହୂର୍ତ୍ତ !#Tokoy2020 ର #ParaBadminton ରେ ଦେଶର ପ୍ରଥମ ସ୍ୱର୍ଣ୍ଣ ପଦକ ଜିତିଥିବା ଓଡ଼ିଶାର ପ୍ରତିଭା ପ୍ରମୋଦ ଭଗତଙ୍କୁ ଶୁଭେଚ୍ଛା। ତୁମ ସଫଳତା ସାରା ଦେଶକୁ ଗୌରବାନ୍ବିତ କରିଛି। ଆଗାମୀ ଦିନରେ ତୁମର ଆହୁରି ଉଜ୍ଜ୍ଵଳ ଭବିଷ୍ୟତ କାମନା କରୁଛି।#Cheer4India #Praise4Para pic.twitter.com/4gWBVU2d9Y
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) September 4, 2021
Bhagat defeated Great Britain’s Daniel Bathell 2-0 in the Men’s Singles SL3 final at the Tokyo Paralympic Games on Saturday to clinch the gold.
Bhagat, the 33-year-old from Bhubaneswar who contracted polio at age four, defeated the Briton 21-14, 21-17, coming back from 4-9 deficit in the second game to claim his first gold medal as badminton made its Paralympic Games debut at Tokyo.
Bhagat, the top-ranked player in the world, is the reigning World Champion in SL3 class having won the title by beating Bathell in the final in Basel, Switzerland in 2019.