Deepa Malik congratulates gold medallist Pramod Bhagat, says 'India ready for all sports'

As Badminton Para-Athlete Pramod Bhagat scripted history by winning a gold medal in the Badminton Men's Singles Class SL3 final of Tokyo Paralympics 2020, Paralympics Committee of India (PCI) President Deepa Malik, who has been at the helm of managing the Paralympics team, congratulated him for the stellar performance and bringing home a Gold. Pramod Bhagat played a hard-fought match and defeated Daniel Bethell of Great Britain with a scoreline of 21-14, 21-17.

Speaking to ANI on Pramod Bhagat's performance, Deepa Malik said, "Heartiest congratulations to Pramod Bhagat. We have got four gold till now. This tells India is ready for all sports like Badminton, Table Tennis, Athletics." Deepa Malik also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his extensive support to the para-athletes and the Paralympics committee in the run-up to the Tokyo Paralympics. "I want to thank PM Modi for his support. Our players are getting a lot of appreciation. It was a great day today, we have won four gold medals," she said.

After Pramod Bhagat won historic gold and Manoj Sarkar clinched a bronze in the Badminton Men's Singles Class SL3 of Tokyo Paralympics 2020 on Saturday, PM Modi telephoned the two para-athletes to congratulate them for their exceptional performance. PM Modi expressed joy that Indian athletes excel in different sports and that the spirit of confidence among the players is remarkable. PM Modi also took to Twitter to wish both athletes on their historic win, adding to the cumulative medals tally of the country. To which, both athletes expressed gratitude for the congratulatory message of the Prime Minister. India's medals haul stands at four gold, seven silver and six bronze, taking the total tally to 17 medals, the best performance by India to date in the Paralympics event.

Pramod Bhagat's stellar performance at finals

The match started with a nervy first set as the world number 1 Bhagat was up against world number 2 Bethell. Both going point for point, but just as Bethell started taking a slight lead, Bhagat turned on his A-game and raced ahead to a seven-point lead 15-8. Bethell was not giving up that easily, though, as he pushed back a bit, but Bhagat took the first set 21-14.

The Brit started very well in the second set as he raced to a 12-4 lead. Bethell was hitting aggressive shots and making it difficult for Bhagat to settle in the match. But Bhagat gradually made his way back into the set, cutting the eight-point deficit to just one. The world No. 2 pushed ahead again by three points, but Bhagat was not going to take that just standing around as he levelled the set at 15-15. And suddenly, Bethell seemed to look fazed as Bhagat took the lead and won the match 21-17.

Image Credit: PTI