Bhubaneswar: After bagging a gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020, ace Indian shuttler Pramod Bhagat on Friday afternoon returned to his home state.
Pramod was given a hero's welcome by the state government and was received with loud cheers and beats of dhol at the Biju Patnaik International airport. State Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera and Secretary R. Vineel Krishna welcomed the Paralympics gold medallist at the airport.
Pramod thanked the state and people for the grand welcome and said this year's Nuakhai (a festival of western Odisha) will be celebrated with the joy of the gold medal. The gold medalist said that his next target is to clinch another gold medal in the Paris Paralympics in 2024.
As per schedule, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will felicitate Pramod this evening at the Kalinga Stadium. The state has already announced that it will provide Rs 6 crore and a Group-A post job to the star shuttler.
Defeating Great Britian’s Daniel Bethell, Pramod picked a gold medal in badminton men's singles SL3 in the recently concluded Paralympics held at Tokyo.
(With inputs from IANS)
