Vaishali village erupts in joy after Pramod Bhagat’s gold

Shubhai village in Vaishali erupted into celebrations after shuttler Pramod Bhagat created history at Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday

Shubhai village in Vaishali erupted into celebrations after shuttler Pramod Bhagat created history at Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday.

Shuttler Pramod Bhagat wins Gold medal in the Men's Singles SL3 at Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. (PTI)

With badminton making its debut at the Paralympics this year, Pramod Bhagat, the current world No. 1, thus became the first Indian to win a gold medal in the sport.

The four-time world champion defeated Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell in the finals of the men’s singles SL3 category.

“I cannot tell you how worried I had been for his future. He got affected with polio at the age of four. I used to cry all the time. But today I am a proud mother. He has brought laurels for the family and also for his state and the country,” Malti Devi, mother of Pramod Bhagat, said.

But the real credit for Pramod’s success goes to my husband’s sister and her husband who took away the child to Odisha for treatment, she added. Former village mukhiya Suresh Patel distributed sweets in the entire village, she added.

Rama Paswan, father of Pramod Bhagat said, “We were concerned for Pramod as he had developed polio at an early age. But today he has made the family proud,” he added.

Former mukhiya of Shubhai said the success of Pramod has proved that talent knows no boundary. “It’s a proud moment for the village, he added.

Kiran Ranjan and Shakti Kishore, the JD (U) members from Vaishali said, the boy has made the district proud. “Vaishali is once again on the world map because of Pramod Bhagat,” Ranjan said.

Pramod was congratulated by the Paralympic Committee of Bihar on his success. Shivaji Kumar, the former disabilities commissioner who is heading the Indian delegation at Tokyo Paralympics said, the success of Pramod has brought yet another proud moment for the state.