Pramod Bhagat
A para-badminton player from Bargarh who won Paralympic gold in Tokyo and five world titles, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2022.
Pramod Bhagat is a para-badminton player who won the gold medal in men’s singles in the SL3 class at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. At the time of the award he was world number one and world champion in men’s singles and doubles. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2022 in the field of sports, from Odisha [1].
From Attabira
Bhagat was born on 4 June 1988 and comes from Attabira in Bargarh district [2]. He studied at an industrial training institute and took a BA [2]. He began playing badminton at 13 and threw himself into footwork, skills and fitness [2]. He played his first tournament at 15, against non-disabled players, and his performance there encouraged him to go on [2].
From 2009 to 2013 he coached badminton at a residential school in Bargarh, and in 2016 he joined the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation, where he rose to assistant director in Bhubaneswar [2].
Titles everywhere
He has won more than 100 international and national medals [2]. Besides Paralympic gold, he has won at the Asian Para Games, the World Championships, the Asian Championships and the IWAS World Games, and has been world champion five times [2].
He received the Arjuna Award in 2019, the Khel Ratna in 2021 and the Odisha government’s Biju Patnaik Sports Award for 2019 [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2022: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 24 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2022: citation for Pramod Bhagat — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 24 October 2026.
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