Bhubaneswar: It was twin joy for Odisha’s ace para shuttler Pramod Bhagat. He had left for the Tokyo Paralympics with two dreams in his eyes – a medal and meeting his idol and cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar.
“A Paralympic medal will fulfil two of my dreams at a time. Tendulkar ji is my idol and he met the Olympic and Paralympic medallists of Rio 2016, even congratulated them. I hope I can meet him next year after the Tokyo 2020 Games with a paralympic medal around my neck,” the 39-year-old had told the media in August 2020.
On Tuesday, Bhagat posted on Instagram about this childhood dream coming true.
“I always imagined that I would get a chance one day to meet you. I also wished that day should come post the biggest achievement of my life and God aligned all the stars for me (sic),” the para-shuttler said.
“The words you spoke to me will stay with me forever and will keep inspiring me for life. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will be sleepless tonight,” he concluded.
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Bhagat won the gold medal after beating Daniel Bethell of Great Britain 21-14, 21-17 in the men’s singles SL3 event on September 4. The Odisha government has announced Rs 6 crore cash award for the shuttler and it will be handed over to him on his arrival in the state. He will also get a Group-A government job.
