Tokyo Paralympics: Odisha’s Ace Shuttler Pramod Bhagat To Play For Gold In Men’s Singles

Bhubaneswar: World no 1 para shuttler from Odisha Pramod Bhagat secured a berth in the finals of men’s singles (SL3) by beating local contender Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara in straight games (21-11,21-16) at Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday.

He will take on Englishman Daniel Bethel, a hot-favourite for gold at 3 pm later in the day.

With this, India is assured of a 14th medal in the Games.

On Friday, Bhagat and his partner Palak Kohli had stormed into the mixed doubles semifinals by defeating Thailand’s Siripong Teamarrom and Nipada Saensupa 21-15 21-19 in a 29-minute clash.

Pramod, who hails from Odisha, was struck by polio which affected his left leg. Hailing from a humble background, Pramod had to go through numerous hardships growing up. Yet, his dream of representing the country in badminton wasn’t going to fade away.