In what could be Para-Badminton’s longest final, Tokyo Paralympic Games gold medalist Pramod Bhagat defeated England’s Daniel Bethell in the SL3 category to retain his title at the NSDF Royal Beach Cliff BWF Para-Badminton World Championships 2024 in Thailand.
This victory smashes a number of records for Padma Shri awardee Bhagat. It not only made him the first para-athlete to win three straight gold medals at the BWF Para-Badminton World Championships, but it also tied Chinese great Lin Dan’s record of five world championship championships. He won gold medals in 2009, 2015, 2019, 2022, and 2024. These three medals bring his total to 14, including six gold, three silver, and five bronze medals across all categories.
The rivalry between Pramod Bhagat and Daniel Bethell is widely known, and this match lived up to that reputation. The one-hour, forty-minute match was exhausting, tight, and might have gone either way.
Pramod Bhagat opened the game strong, winning five straight points and establishing a comfortable lead. But Bethell rallied to win the first set 21-14. The second set began aggressively, but as the match went, there were long rallies in which neither player could create an opening, and their defence was remarkable. Bhagat won the second set 21-15 by forcing Bethell into errors.
With the match tied, Bhagat shifted tactics in the decider to confuse Bethell, giving him the advantage and securing the 21-14 victory, his third World Championship in a row. Aside from the gold medal, Bhagat earned bronze in Men’s Doubles with Sukant Kadam and another bronze in Mixed Doubles with Manisha Ramdass.