New Delhi, Jan 25 (IANS): World No 1 Pramod Bhagat made all the right headlines last year when he became the first Indian to ever win a gold in badminton at Paralympics/Olympics.

The ace athlete also was conferred with Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in October 2021 and now Bhagat is all set to become the first Para-Badminton athlete to receive the prestigious Padma Shri award.

Bhagat, who is busy training in Spain, was ecstatic when he heard the news.

Reacting to the same, the World No. 1 in the SL3 category said, "It's a truly humbling experience to be honoured with the Padma Shri award and will serve to inspire me to earn more laurels for my country."

He further added, "This will inspire me to strive harder and put in extra efforts in training and Asian Games and World Championships which is scheduled for this year."

With more than 14 odd tournaments this year, it is going to be a very important year for him. This year also includes Asian Games and World Championship and the Paralympics coming in 2024, this year becomes even more important.