It is pertinent to mention here that, 2022 will be an important and busy year for the ace para-shuttler with more than 14 odd tournaments. This year also includes the Asian Games and the World Championship. And with Paralympics scheduled for 2024, this year becomes even more crucial.
Ace shuttler and Paralympics Gold Medallist, Pramod Bhagat returned to his home in Attabira under Bargarh district on Tuesday morning (Sept 21). Pramod received a roaring welcome back home for this astounding feat at the games.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met India's Tokyo Paralympics stars, at a function here following their record show in the 2020 Games.
Hailing the Prime Minister for devoting time with the athletes, Thakur said, "He (PM) had hosted the Olympians when they arrived in India and now he is going to host the Paralympians as well."
Badminton was for the first time included as an official sport at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, and Indian para-shuttlers put on a stunning show with some aggressive and tactical strategy of play, right from the word go. India had sent five shuttlers to Paralympics and all five reached at least the semis. Four players - Pramod Bhagat, Krishna Nagar, Suhas Yathiraj and Manoj Sarkar produced historic and magical performances in the para-badminton games to etch their names in record books.
Manish Narwal scripted history by winning a gold medal for India at Tokyo Paralympics for shooting on Saturday (Sept 4).
Pramod Bhagat Wins Gold At Tokyo Paralympics
History was created at Tokyo when para shooter Avani Lekhara became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in the Paralympic Games. The 19-year-old girl from Rajasthan bagged gold in women's 10m Air Rifle SH1 with a world record score of 249.6 in the final. Her campaign did not end there. Avani clinched her second medal of the Tokyo Paralympics on Friday (Sept 3), a bronze in women's 50m rifle 3P SH1 event. With this, she has also become the first Indian woman to bag two medals in Paralympics.
Lekhara had become the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold by claiming the top honours in the 10m air rifle standing SH1 event.
India's Praveen Kumar clinched the silver medal in the men's high jump T64 event of the Paralympics, taking the country's haul to 11 in the ongoing Games here on Friday.
Making his debut at the Games, the 28-year-old's best effort was a 13.48m throw in the eight-strong field. The gold medal in this event went to Uzbekistan's Khusniddin Norbekov, who produced a season's best effort of 16.13m.
Odisha Para Player’s Forum (OPPF) members staged demonstration before the State sports and Youth Services Department alleging apathy and discrimination by the government on Tuesday.
Para-Badminton makes its Paralympic Games debut on Wednesday. World No 1 Pramod Bhagat, the favourite for the title, will get into the action with a Group stage match against compatriot Manoj Sarkar.
This was India's second medal at the Asaka Shooting Range the eighth overall. Avani Lekhara won India's first gold medal in shooting on Monday.
The Games debutant had injured both his legs after falling off a cliff while training after joining the BSF. It is a heartbreaking turn of events for the man from Haryana who was bed-ridden for close to a decade till 2012 and lost both his parents in that period.
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