Shuttler Pramod Bhagat’s next goal is to defend Paralympic gold

Pramod Bhagat

Dead chuffed to have equalled Chinese badminton icon Lin Dan's record of five World Championships titles, Indian para shuttler Pramod Bhagat now wants to defend his Paralympic gold in Paris, and has also set himself a long-term target of staying fit till the 2036 Games.

The Bihar-born para shuttler, 35, on Sunday matched Lin Dan's record after outwitting nemesis England's Daniel Bethell 14-21, 21-15, 21-14 in SL3 (standing/lower limb impairment/severe) final.

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With the win, Bhagat completed a hat-trick of crowns after Stoke Mandeville in 2015 and Basel in 2019. He also won a gold medal at 2022 Tokyo and 2009 Seoul edition. "It was an important win for me, not only because I wanted to equal Lin Dan's record, but also because the Olympics is the next big event, and I wanted to go into Paris without any mental barrier. It will help me to retain my gold and that is the goal now," said Bhagat, who was conferred the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award in 2021.

"Since the Olympics, I lacked in my training and he also worked on his game and he always had an upper hand in the seven to eight times that we have played in the finals. So, it became a mental barrier for me. I had to break that barrier before the Paris Olympics," said Bhagat.

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