Bhubaneswar: Greetings have poured in for ace para shuttler from Odisha Pramod Bhagat after he won the gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday while his native place in Bargarh was gripped in celebration mood.
Congratulating Bhagat on his achievement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his tweet said, “Pramod Bhagat has won the hearts of the entire nation. He is a Champion, whose success will motivate millions. He showed remarkable resilience & determination. Congratulations to him for winning the Gold in Badminton. Best wishes to him for his future endeavours. @PramodBhagat83”.
In his reaction, Bhagat said, “This means so much to me and I am thankful for your kind wishes Shri Narendra Modiji.”
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in his message said, “It is a matter of happiness for the people of Odisha that Bhagat has won gold medal in Paralympics. The entire country is proud of him.”
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik congratulated Bhagat for the achievement and wished him a bright future.
Eminent sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik also created a sand sculpture of Bhagat on Puri beach for winning the gold medal as mark of congratulatory message.
Meanwhile, the people of Bhagat’s native village in Attabira of Bargarh district erupted in joy and came out on the streets to celebrate the occasion. “Pramod has brought us Nuakhai (a local festival) presents early,” they said.
Bhagat won the gold medal after beating Daniel Bethell 21-14, 21-17 in the men’s singles SL3 event at the Paralympics.
