Shuttlers made the day memorable for India as Manoj Sarkar captured bronze medal also in the mens SL3 category, defeating Japanese opponent Daisuke Fujihara 22-20, 21-13. Bhagat advanced to the final, beating Daisuke Fujihara of Japan in the semifinals 21-11, 21-16) earlier in the day.

It was, in fact, a hectic day for Bhagat, who also had to play his mixed doubles SL3-SU5 semifinal match with Palak Kohli as his partner. But the Indian pair went down to Indonesia combination of Leani Ratri Oktila and Susanto Hary 3-21, 15-21.

But Bhagat has an opportunity in his hand to win the mixed doubles bronze medal tomorrow if the Indian duo beat Japanese combination of Daisuke Fujihara and Akiko Sugino.

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. He won two gold and one bronze in singles, besides two gold and one silver in doubles at the BWF Para-Badminton 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 medal 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 pandemic.

"This is very special to me, its my dream come true. I would like to dedicate this to my parents & to everyone who has supported me throughout. Am glad that I could make India and Odisha proud," said Bhagat after receiving the medal.
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TOP: Pramod Bhagat with his Paralympic singles gold medal in Tokyo on 4 September, 2021.
RIGHT: Manoj Sarkar in action during his Paralympic bronze medal match in Tokyo on 4 September, 2021.