Para Badminton World Championship has been fruitful for India. India’s Pramod Bhagat made strong comeback to defeated England’s Daniel Bethell and earned his third title in the men’s single.
Pramod won his second gold in Para Badminton World Championship. He is currently at the number one position in the world ranking. He won his men’s double SL3-4 title on the penultimate day of the competition.
Interestingly, in that match he and his partner Manoj Sarkar came from game down to defeat compatriots Nitesh Kumar and Tarun Dhillon 14-21, 21-15 and 21-16 in the final.
SL3 category is meant for players who have minor standing/lower impairment while SL4 is for those who have severe conditions of SL3.
Overall, India finished with 12 medals, including three gold medals. Though the total number of medals is same as in 2015 Worlds, but back then India had four gold medals, making it the best ever show.
On Sunday, Bhagat bettered his winning record against Bethell to 3-1 this season with a 6-21, 21-14, 21-5 scoreline in the final that lasted almost an hour.
Unlike the first game, Bhagat relied more on his rallies and half smashes to emerge winner in the next two. Having worked on his fitness in the recent past, it also helped him a lot. He said, “I took time to find my rhythm and thus started slow in the first game. I have played Bathell many times, so knew it will be a tough match. I am happy to finish on the winning side and take my third singles gold.
“The only thing that crossed my mind after I lost the first game was that I need to make a comeback. The win here was important in terms of Tokyo 2020 qualification points and also for my confidence.”
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