Pramod Bhagat

Some Lesser Known Facts About Pramod Bhagat

• Pramod Bhagat is an Indian professional para-badminton player, who is ranked no. 1 in para-badminton men’s singles SL3 and also a 5 times BWF World Champion. Pramod represented India at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, where he earned a gold medal in Men’s Singles SL3 category.

• Pramod was born into a family of farmers in the Hajipur village of Vaishali district in Bihar. Pramod was fond of playing various sports since childhood, but at the age of 5, he got affected by polio, which developed a defect on his left leg, causing a permanent disability. However, Pramod did not let his disability come in his way, and he kept practising and playing various sports.

• While growing up, Pramod Bhagat developed a keen interest in badminton, but his poor financial condition became another barrier to his career. He started playing badminton with a second-hand racket that he bought for Rs 10 from a nearby local market. Pramod did a lot of hard work and never missed any practice session, thus emerging as a skilful player, which also helped him grab many opportunities to play at district-level and state-level tournaments.

• Pramod Bhagat made his international debut in 2006 by competing at the FESCPIC Games, presently known as Asian Para Games, but could not give a good start to his international career. He was out of the competition after playing his first match at the first international tournament.

• Pramod Bhagat first came into the limelight in 2013 when he won a gold medal at the World Championships in Men’s doubles category held in Dortmund, Germany. Pramod Bhagat, along with his doubles partner Manoj Sarkar, won the match, beating Japanese duo Taku Hiroi and Toshiaki Suenaga with a score of 21–15, 10–21, 21–18 in the final match.

• Next, in 2014, Pramod Bhagat participated in the Asian Para Games and won a bronze medal for India.

• In 2015, Pramod Bhagat got the opportunity to represent India at BWF World Championships and won a gold medal, defeating Vietnam’s Pham Duc Trung in Men’s singles category. Pramod also won a silver medal along with his doubles partner Tarun Dhillon, winning the match with 21–7, 14–21, 6–21 scores.

• Pramod Bhagat secured a gold medal in Men’s Singles SL3 and a silver medal in Men’s Double’s SL3-SL4 category at the 2018 Asian Para Games. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Instagram to congratulate Pramod on winning two medals at the Asian Para Games.

• One of the major highlights of Pramod Bhagat’s career was the 2019 BWF Para-Badminton World Championships held in Basel, Switzerland, where he bagged a total of two gold medals in the SL3 men’s singles and doubles categories each after which he received tremendous recognition and appreciation.

• 2019 proved to be a very successful year for Pramod Bhagat. After winning two medals at the BWF Para-Badminton World Championships, Pramod fenced another two gold medals in Men’s Singles SL3 and Men’s Double’s SL3-SU5 categories at the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports (IWAS) World Games.

• Pramod Bhagat, in 2019, was honoured with the Arjuna Award, the sports honour of the Republic of India, for his extraordinary performance in the Para-Badminton sports by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind.

  

• After receiving the Arjuna Award, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik felicitated Pramod Bhagat with a cash prize of Rs 30.95 lakh.

  

• In 2021, Pramod Bhagat got the opportunity to represent India at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, making his debut in the paralympic games. During a pre-match interview, Pramod described his expectations as
  

  The expectations are very high from our para shuttlers, and especially from me. A medal at the Paralympics – where para-badminton is being introduced for the first time – is the only thing that has eluded me till now. It is going to be a tough tournament, but I am training hard with the thought process of winning a gold and making India and everybody around me proud.”

  He further added,

  Mentally I am in a very good mindset and my two gold and bronze at the recently concluded Dubai Para Badminton tournament has been a huge morale booster for me. I would also like to thank the Odisha Government and Government of India for constantly supporting me through this journey.”

• Pramod Bhagat won a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics in the men’s singles SL3 class category. He created history in Tokyo by becoming the first Indian player to win a gold medal in Badminton at the Paralympics. Pramod dedicated this win to his parents. He said,
  

  This is very special to me, it’s my dream come true. Bethell really pushed me but I just kept my calm and played to my strengths. I would like to dedicate this to my parents and to everyone who has supported me throughout. I’m glad I could make India proud.”

  https://youtu.be/95YGXdGRmhU

• Pramod Bhagat considers Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu his biggest inspiration to play badminton, talking about them, he said,
  

  Saina has been my inspiration for the longest time. What did for badminton in 2012 (winning bronze at the London Olympics) is what I aim to do for para-badminton. She has been a huge force in badminton and has inspired millions to take up the sport.”

  He further added,

   Sindhu has been the torch-bearer of Indian badminton for a long time now. Her displays at the 2016 and the 2020 Olympics have raised the benchmark and I would like to achieve a similar feat in the Paralympics. Like her, I also want to inspire Indians to take up the sport. I really like the attitude Sindhu plays with and I try to incorporate things which I see in her game, which can help me improve my game.”

• According to Pramod, he is a regular practitioner of yoga and believes that yoga provides the energy that one needs to cope with day-to-day life chaos, keeping their mind at ease.

  

• Pramod Bhagat is a nature lover. He is often spotted planting trees and spreading awareness about a healthier environment.

  

• Pramod has featured on the cover of Hindustan Times’ Brunch magazine.