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Odisha to give ₹6 crore and top govt job to Paralympics gold medallist Bhagat
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik had promised to award ₹6 crore to gold medalists of the Tokyo Paralympics. Pramod Bhagat won badminton gold in men’s singles SL3 category
The Odisha government on Wednesday announced a cash award of ₹6 crore for badminton player Pramod Bhagat, who last week won a gold medal in the Tokyo Paralympics in SL3 (Standing/lower limb impairment/minor) class.
The state government also announced a Group-A state government job for Bhagat, who defeated Daniel Bethell of Great Britain 21-14, 21-17 in the men’s singles SL3 event on September 4.
For the first time in Paralympics, badminton was included as an official sport. Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik had earlier said the state government will award ₹6 crore to gold medalists of the Tokyo Paralympics.
Bhagat, 32, faced a series of adversities in his childhood starting with polio on his left leg at the age of five. With his father’s income as a driver not being enough to run the household, Bhagat took to working as a fan mechanic in Bargarh district after dropping out of an ITI training course in Hirakud due to the poor financial condition of his family. At the age of 13, he watched a badminton match and became fascinated with the sport. Two years later at the age of 15, he played his first badminton tournament against able-bodied players at the district level and even won a district-level competition. Then he moved towards para-badminton.
In paralympics badminton, there are six classes depending on the type and severity of impairment. Bhagat was in SL3 (Standing/lower limb impairment/minor) category in which a player must play standing. The players in this category have impairment in one or both lower limbs and poor walking/running balance. They play standing on a half-width court and have reduced court movement but a full range of shots.
A three-time world champion, Bhagat can play equally well in both the singles and the doubles format of the sport. Pramod was among the 5 para-badminton players to have been shortlisted by the Mission Olympic Cell of Sports Authority of India which helped athletes prepare for a podium finish through its Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) programme for Tokyo 2020- Paralympic Games.
His father, who encouraged him to play badminton, died in 2006. His mother Kusum Devi succumbed to Covid last year.
In 2019, he won the Arjuna award for excellence in sports while the same year he won the Biju Patnaik Sports Award given by the Odisha government.
