New Delhi, Sep 12 (Sports news): Paralympics gold medallist Pramod Bhagat has attributed his calm on-court demeanour under pressure to the inspiration he took from the sportsmanship and graceful behaviour exhibited by the iconic cricketer Sachin Tendulkar in his career.

Bhagat, the reigning world champion, clinched India's first Paralympics gold with a straight-game win over Great Britain's Daniel Bethell in the SL3 class finals in Tokyo last week.

The 33-year-old Indian, who had contracted polio when he was 4 years old, showed great mental fortitude as he recovered from an eight-point deficit in the second game to come up trumps against his opponent.

"I used to play cricket during childhood. During that time we used to watch cricket on Doordarsan and I was always fascinated by Sachin Tendulkar's calm demeanour, the way he conducted himself and it had a big influence on me," Bhagat told PTI in an interview.

"I started following him. His sportsmanship influenced me a lot. So when I started playing, I followed the same thought process and it helped me to make some memorable comeback in many matches, including World Championships.

"When I was 4-12 down in second game of the final, I was confident that I can recover and so I could held my nerves, stay calm and comeback and win." Bhagat had met Tendulkar after returning to the country from Tokyo. He gifted his racquet, which he used in the final to Tendulkar, who gave him an autographed tee-shirt and his autobiography book.

"I have always been inspired by Sachin, right from childhood, so it was a big moment for me when I met him. He told me about the balance of life and sports. It was a dream come true moment." Bhagat, who hails from Attabira in Odisha's Bargarh district, said he didn't see any future in the sport when he started but now he feels overwhelmed with the response that his gold medal has generated.

"When I started badminton in 2005, I used to feel there is no future but I won in 2009 world championship title and once BWF recognised para-badminton, things changed slowly," he said.

"But there was not much recognition for para badminton and somehow I knew that a gold at Paralympics may get me recognition and I should say I am overwhelmed with all the attention." Indian para shuttlers claimed as many as four medals, including two gold, a silver and a bronze, from the Tokyo Paralympics where badminton made its debut this year.

Bhagat, who has over 45 international medals under his belt, including four world championship gold medals and a gold and a bronze in 2018 Asian Para Games, said time has come for para shuttlers to dominate the world.

"It is just a start for us. The struggle time is over now and it's time to step up and achieve more," he said.

"In Tokyo, we have proved that we are the best and in years to come, you can expect much higher level performances and I feel in next year's Asian games and 2024 Olympics, we will do better." Bhagat was supposed to play next month's World Championships in Tokyo but it has been postponed due to COVID-19 and he said his next aim remains to win a medal at the tournament which might happen in December or March.

Bhagat also acknowledged the contribution of childhood coach Shiba Prasad Das.

"He actually found me, trained me and made me what I am. He is my first guru (coach). I used to play outdoors, he introduced me to indoor badminton and it was under his guidance that I won the 2009 world championship title.

"He helped me financially, mentally and physically supported me. I used to train under him before big events. So I have lot of gratitude for him."

Also read: Sports Minister felicitates triumphant Paralympians, hopes for better show in 2024

News source: PTI

(Badminton news) Tokyo Paralympics 2021 Live Update: Pramod Bhagat has become the first Indian to win a Gold medal in Badminton Men’s Singles Class 3 at the Tokyo Paralympics. Pramod beat Daniel Bethell 21-14, 21- 17. Bethell at one point was leading 12-4 in the second game but the momentum quickly shifted as Pramod kept calm during the rallies and the scoreboard read 16-15 in favour of Pramod. Pramod also had Manoj Sarkar giving him company in court number 2.

Pramod had earlier beaten Bethell in the 2019 BWF Para Badminton World Championship final and also in the 2015 World Championship where Pramod won Gold and Bethell had to settle for a Bronze medal. Badminton is being featured for the first time in the Paralympics, India has now won 16 medals in the Tokyo Paralympics and will be looking to go higher as there are more medals events to come.

Also read: Paralympics bronze medallist archer Harvinder wants to crack UPSC Exam: coach

(Paralympic news) Para-Shuttler Manoj Sarkar has won the bronze medal in the badminton men's singles SL3 in Tokyo after defeating Daisuke Fujihara from japan in straight sets.

Sarkar started his campaign with a 2-1 loss to fellow countryman Pramod Bhagat. He came back with a 2-0 win over Uruguay's Oleksandr Chyrkov to qualify for the Semi-finals. In the Semi-finals Sarkar fell short against Daniel Bethell as he lost straight sets 21-8 and 21-10.

The first set was incredibly tight and went on for 27 minutes. The Indian had a 5 point lead at one point he ended up winning 22-20. In the 2nd set Sarkar dominated the court winning 21-13 to secure the Bronze medal. The win confirmed India's record 17th medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

Also read: Manish Narwal and Singhraj win Gold and Silver medal at the Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 final at the Tokyo Paralympics
 

Tokyo, Sep 4 (Paralympic news) The Indian trioka of Pramod Bhagat, Suhas Yathiraj and Krishna Nagar sailed into the men's singles finals of the badminton event in their respective classifications at the Tokyo Paralympics here on Saturday.

Among other Indians in the fray, Manoj Sarkar and Tarun Dhillon couldn't go the distance, suffering contrasting losses in their respective semifinal match. The duo will play in the bronze medal play off later in the day.

The 33-year-old Bhagat, the current world no 1, secured a 21-11 21-16 win over Japan's Daisuke Fujihara in the first SL3 class semifinals that lasted 36 minutes.

The top seeded Indian, current world and Asian champion, will lock horns with Great Britain's Daniel Bethell in the summit clash later in the day.

In SL4 class, Suhas outwitted Indonesia's Fredy Setiawan 21-9 21-15 in 31 minutes in the first semifinal.

The Noida District Magistrate will face top seed Lucas Mazur of France in the final on Sunday.

Krishna, seeded second, also dished out a superlative performance, outplaying Great Britain's Krysten Coombs 21-10 21-11 in the SH6 class semifinals.

The 22-year-old Indian will cross swords with Hong Kong's Chu Man Kai in the final on Sunday.

In the other SL4 class semifinal, Mazur managed to stave off a spirited effort from Tarun, claiming a narrow 21-16 16-21 21-18 win over the second seeded Indian in a gruelling semifinal that lasted an hour and three minutes at the Yoyogi National Stadium.

The 27-year-old from Hisar will face Setiawan in the bronze medal play off on Sunday.

Manoj too couldn't get into any sort of rhythm against second seeded Bethell, going down 8-21 10-21 in the other men's singles SL3 class semifinals.

The 31-year-old will now play Fujihara in the bronze medal play-off later in the day.

Earlier in the day, with only half of the court being used in SL3 classification, Bhagat and Fujihara engaged in a lot of long rallies and the Indian came up on top most of the time.

Bhagat, the top seed, trailed 2-4 early in the opening game but a series of overhead drops helped him claw back. The duo were 8-8 before the Indian entered the interval at 11-8.

Also read: Shuttlers Bhagat, Suhas enter badminton finals as Manoj and Tarun lose in semifinals at the Tokyo Paralympics 

After the break, he continued his good run and eventually pocketed the opening game with six straight points.

It was a Bhagat show in the second game as well as the Indian led all the way to come up trumps.

Bhagat will pair up with Palak Kohli for their mixed doubles SL3-SU5 semifinals later in the day.

"It was a great game against Fujihara, he pushed me with some great shots. But I had a plan and I executed it very well. I am happy I have reached my maiden Paralympic finals but the work is not done yet," said Bhagat after his match.

In SL classification, persons with standing/lower limb impairment/severe are allowed to compete. SH6 classification refers to short stature impairment. 

News source: PTI

Tokyo, Sep 4 (Paralympic news) live update: Indian shuttlers Pramod Bhagat and Suhas Yathiraj stormed into the men's singles finals of the badminton event in their respective classifications but Manoj Sarkar and Tarun Dhillon suffered contrasting losses in their semifinal match at the Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday.

The 33-year-old Bhagat, the current world no 1, secured a 21-11 21-16 win over Japan's Daisuke Fujihara in the first SL3 class semifinals that lasted 36 minutes.

The top seeded Indian, current world and Asian champion, will lock horns with Great Britain's Daniel Bethell in the summit clash later in the day.

In SL4 class, Suhas outwitted Indonesia's Fredy Setiawan 21-9 21-15 in 31 minutes in the first semifinal.

The Noida District Magistrate will face top seed Lucas Mazur of France in the final on Sunday.

Mazur managed to stave off a spirited effort from Tarun, claiming a narrow 21-16 16-21 21-18 win over the second seeded Indian in a gruelling semifinal that lasted an hour and three minutes at the Yoyogi National Stadium.

The 27-year-old from Hisar will face Setiawan in the bronze medal play off on Sunday.

Manoj too couldn't get into any sort of rhythm against second seeded Bethell, going down 8-21 10-21 in the other men's singles SL3 class semifinals.

The 31-year-old will now play Fujihara in the bronze medal play-off later in the day.

With only half of the court being used in this classification, Bhagat and Fujihara engaged in a lot of long rallies and the Indian came up on top most of the time.

Bhagat, the top seed, trailed 2-4 early in the opening game but a series of overhead drops helped him claw back. The duo were 8-8 before the Indian entered the interval at 11-8.

After the break, he continued his good run and eventually pocketed the opening game with six straight points.

It was a Bhagat show in the second game as well as the Indian led all the way to come up trumps.

Bhagat will pair up with Palak Kohli for their mixed doubles SL3-SU5 semifinals later in the day.

"It was a great game against Fujihara, he pushed me with some great shots. But I had a plan and I executed it very well. I am happy I have reached my maiden Paralympic finals but the work is not done yet," said Bhagat after his match.

Bhagat, who had developed a defect on his left leg after contracting polio at the age of 5, has won a total of 45 international medals, including four world championship gold medals.

He won two gold medals and a bronze in men's singles, besides two gold medals and a silver in men's doubles at the BWF Para World Championships in the last eight years.

In the 2019 edition at Basel, Bhagat had won gold medals in both singles and doubles events.

In the 2018 Asian Para Games, he won two medals -- a gold and a bronze. He topped it up with two gold medals and one silver at the IWAS World games in 2019.

He clinched two gold medals at the BWF Para World Badminton Championships in Basel, Switzerland in 2019.

This year, Bhagat had claimed two gold medals at the Dubai Para Badminton tournament in April when the sport returned after a year-long break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bhagat won the singles gold and also paired up with Manoj Sarkar to clinch the men's doubles gold in SL4-SL3 category.

In SL classification, persons with standing/lower limb impairment/severe are allowed to compete.

Also read: Soman Rana misses podium finish in Shot Put at the Tokyo Paralympics, Lakra and Ekta produce season bests in Club Throw

News Source: PTI