Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champion Pramod Bhagat's realised his childhood dream rue after he met former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Wednesday.
Shuttler Pramod Bhagat clinched the gold medal after defeating Great Britain's Daniel Bethell by 2-0 in the men's singles SL3 -- final match at Yoyogi National Stadium in recently concluded Tokyo Paralympics.
"CHILDHOOD DREAM COMES TRUE! I can't believe how happy I am today as a kid I took inspiration from Sir @sachin_rt The words you spoke to me today will stay with me forever & will keep inspiring me for life. I thank you from the bottom of my heart I will be sleepless tonight," Pramod Bhagat tweeted.
Battling it out on Court 1, the first-seed Indian overwhelmed the second-seed Daniel Bethell in straight sets by 21-14 and 21-17 in 45 minutes in the final.
In his second event in Tokyo, Parmod paired with Palak Kohli. The duo lost by 2-0 in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 bronze medal match. The unseeded pair of Daisuke Fujihara and Akiko Sugino of Japan defeated the Indians in straight sets by 23-21 and 21-19 in just 37 minutes.
In Tokyo 2020, India won 19 medals, finishing 24th in the overall medal tally among 162 nations competing and ranking 20th on the basis of total medals won. India had won only 12 medals until 2016 since making its Paralympic Games debut in 1968.
( With inputs from ANI )
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