The State Government on Wednesday announced a cash award of Rs 6 crore and a Group-A level government job for Paralympics Gold medalist Pramod Bhagat. He would be handed over the cheque by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik after his arrival in Bhubaneswar, the Sports & Youth Services Department said. “The State Government is committed to support the sportspersons and para sportspersons to achieve their potential.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik interacted with Odisha Olympians and para Olympian who had qualified for Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics on 8th July and wished them good luck. To motivate them, he also announced cash awards for achieving medals– Rs 6 crore for Gold medal, Rs 4 crore for Silver medal and Rs 2.5 crore for Bronze medal. A grant of Rs 15 lakh was provided as support for their preparation for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics,” it said. Notably, Pramod Bhagat became the first badminton player from India to win a gold medal at the Olympics or Paralympic Games beating Great Britain’s Daniel Bathell 2-0 in the Men’s Singles SL3 final at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Bhagat, the 33-year-old from Odisha who contracted polio at age four, defeated Briton 21-14, 21-17, coming back from a4-9 deficit in the second game to claim his first gold medal as badminton made its Paralympics debut at Tokyo. Bhagat, the top-ranked player in world, is the reigning World Champion in SL3 class.