Rajendra Prasad Mohapatra

It was a sheer experience of ‘dream come true’ for World No.1 para shuttler and newly crowned Tokyo Paralympics gold medallist Pramod Bhagat, when he met cricketing legend ‘Master Blaster’ Sachin Tendulkar at his residence in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The promising para shuttler from Odisha stopped over Sachin’s residence upon an invitation by the latter and shared the saga of his struggle and achievement with the ‘God of Cricket’ for nearly three hours. 

“I am in the blue moon and can’t believe how happy I am today. As a kid, I drew inspiration from Sachin Tendulkar Sir for always being positive and motivated,” Bhagat captioned on his Instagram account after the conclusion of their meeting.

“I won the yellow metal in Paralympics. The joy hadn't even settled when I got a chance to meet you. I was falling short of words as I couldn't believe that I was sitting next to you. Your kindness is heart touching,” Pramod wrote on his social media platform.

“The inspiring words you spoke to me will stay with me forever and will keep motivating and inspiring me for life. I express my gratitude from the bottom of my heart. I will be sleepless tonight,” he mentioned.

The spirited para shuttler wrote, “I always dreamt that once I would get a chance to meet you. I also wished that day should come after the biggest achievement of my life and God aligned all the stars for me.

While Pramod presented a racquet, which he used in the final against Daniel Bethell, to his childhood idol, Sachin reciprocated by giving him a T-shirt with his autobiography and his biography book.

(Edited by Suryakant Jena)
 

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