Gold medalist Pramod Bhagat spends 'sleepless night' after meeting idol Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is hailed as the 'Icon' of Indian cricket and meeting him is every athlete's dream. India's para shuttler Pramod Bhagat also made his dream come true on Wednesday when he met the 'Master Blaster'. Pramod Bhagat's gold medal-winning effort at the recently concluded Tokyo Paralympics made him the first Indian para shuttler to do so. 

Tokyo Paralympics gold medalist Pramod Bhagat meets Sachin Tendulkar 

Taking to Twitter, Pramod Bhagat shared the images of his meeting with the 'Master Blaster' and wrote that his childhood dream of meeting his inspiration has come true. He further said that the words spoken with him by Sachin Tendulkar will not only stay with him forever but also inspire him for life. Bhagat also wrote that he will have a "sleepless night" after meeting his idol  

Pramod Bhagat to get Rs 6 crores as cash reward

The Odisha government on Wednesday announced cash prize of ₹6 crores and also a government job for Pramod Bhagat gold medal effort at Tokyo Paralympics. Bhagat, a resident of Attabira in Odisha’s Bargarh district, clinched the gold medal after defeating Great Britain's Daniel Bethell by 2-0 in the men's singles SL3 -- final match at Yoyogi National Stadium. Bhagat, who initially competed against able-bodied players, got into competitive para-badminton in 2006. He eventually emerged as one of the best para shuttlers in the country with 45 international medals under his belt, including four world championship gold medals and a gold and a bronze in 2018 Asian Para Games.

India's performance at Tokyo Paralympics

Team India had the biggest contingent for the Paralympics games till date. A total of 54 Indian athletes competed across nine sports events during the event. Team India had their best ever performance at the Paralympic Games with 19 medals in total which included five gold, eight silver and six bronze. Since making its first appearance at the Paralympics in 1968, India had won 12 medals in total till the 2016 Rio edition. The country has now massively improved upon that entire number by 7 medals at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020 alone. Out of a total of 162 nations, India have finished 24th in the overall medal tally, while its accomplishment of 19 medals is ranked 20th based on the number of medals.