Bhubaneswar, Sep 10 (IANS): After winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020, ace shuttler Pramod Bhagat returned to his home state, Odisha on Friday afternoon.

Amid the beats of 'dhol' and cheers, Pramod was given a hero's welcome at the Biju Patnaik International airport by the state government. State Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera and Secretary R. Vineel Krishna welcomed the Paralympics gold medallist at the airport.

Pramod thanked the state and people for the grand welcome and said this year's Nuakhai (a festival of western Odisha) will be celebrated with the joy of the gold medal. The shuttler said his next target is to win another gold medal in the Paris Paralympics in 2024.

As per schedule, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will felicitate Pramod this evening at the Kalinga Stadium. The Odisha government has already announced that it will provide Rs 6 crore and a Group-A post job to the ace shuttler.

Beating Daniel Bethell of Great Britain, Pramod won gold medal in badminton men's singles SL3 in the recently concluded Tokyo Paralympics, 2020.