BHUBANESWAR 29-Aug-2019
National Sports Day turned out to be a day of recognition and rewards for Odisha para-badminton world champion Pramod Bhagat as he was conferred with the presitigious Arjuna Award as well as Biju Patnaik Award for Excellence in Sports today.
Bhagat received the Arjuna Award along with a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh from the hands of President Ramnath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi. His family members were present on the occasion. Bhagat dedicated the Arjuna Award to his mother Kusum Devi and coach Gaurav Khanna.
Interestingly, Bhagat also raised eyebrows on the occasion by expressing displeasure for non-consideration of the name of his coach Khanna for Dronacharya Award. ‘`I STRONGLY condemn those who defamed my coach to stop Dronacharya Award. Thanks all Para Bad. players. We will come back stronger,’’ he wrote in his Twitter handle.
