India Shines At Para-Badminton World Championship, Bags 12 Medals, Including 3 Gold

As PV Sindhu clinched the BWF world champion title on August 25, India’s para shuttler Pramod Bhagat too made Indians proud by winning two golds at the Para BWF World Championship in Basel in Switzerland.

World’s no. 1 Pramod Bhagat defeated England’s Daniel Bethell to clinch his third title in the men’s singles SL3 category at the event on Sunday. SL3 category is for the players with minor standing/lower limb impairment. Bethell dominated the stage, however, Bhagat’s strong comeback helped him pocket the gold. He defeated Bethel by 6-21, 21-14, 21-5, taking his winning record against the Englishman to 3-1.

“I have played Bethell 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,” Bhagat said in the post-match interview.

Earlier, the Odiya shuttler had won gold medal in men’s doubles category in SL3-4 title with his partner Manoj Sarkar defeating compatriots Nitesh Kumar and Tarun Dhillion 14-21, 21,15,21-16 in the final. In total, Bhagat has three singles and two doubles titles in the World Championships to his name.

https://twitter.com/PramodBhagat83/status/1165470970640908288

In the women’s category, 30-year-old Manasi Joshi clinched her maiden gold in women’s singles SL3 final defeating World No 1 and compatriot Parul Kumar by 21-12, 21-7 on August 24.

Tournament update: Wonderful few days at the BWF Para-badminton World Championships. Stoked to have won the Gold with exactly #1YearToGo for #Tokyo2020 Paralympics.

Also, PV Sindhu, you are GOAT! Congratulations! pic.twitter.com/njB3XhNcVP

— Manasi Nayana Joshi (@joshimanasi11) August 25, 2019

“I have trained extremely hard…training three sessions a day. The focus was on my fitness, so I also lost some weight and gained more muscle. I spent more time in the gym, working six sessions a week,” Joshi said.

Indian para-athletes won a total of 12 medals including two gold, three silver, and five bronze medals in the 22 medal event.

Indian para shuttlers win 12 medals – 3 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze medals at BWF World Championship Para-Badminton 2019 pic.twitter.com/hReKlmwM6M

— Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) August 26, 2019

Also Read: Why other sports in India can take a lesson from badminton