5 september 2024 : Harvinder Singh’s calm composure and precision turned dreams into reality as he became India’s first-ever Paralympic gold medalist in archery on Wednesday.
Pursuing PhD in Economics, the 33-year-old Indian, who lost to Kevin Mather of the US in the Tokyo semifinals before securing a bronze, showed neither fatigue not nerves to secure five back-to-back wins in a day to bag his second successive Paralympics medal.
Reserving his best for the final, Harvinder nailed three 10s in his last four arrows to knock out his 44-year-old opponent from Poland Lukasz Ciszek 6-0 (28-24, 28-27, 29-25) for India’s second medal in archery at the ongoing Paralympics.
Rakesh Kumar and Sheetal Devi had won a bronze medal in the mixed compound open category on Monday.
Harvinder, the first Indian Paralympic medallist in archery, dispatched world No. 9 Hector Julio Ramirez of Colombia 6-2 in the quarterfinals, having earlier eliminated Tseng Lung-Hui of Chinese Taipei 7-3 in the round of 32.
In the pre-quarters, he rallied from an initial set deficit to edge out Setiawan Setiawan of Indonesia 6-2.
He became the first Indian archer to enter the Paralympic final when he overturned a 1-3 deficit to triumph over Iran’s Mohammad Reza Arab Ameri 7-3.
In each of his victories, Harvinder showcased his resilience, consistently staging comebacks to stay in the hunt.
In the final, Harvinder Singh displayed a different level of precision, conceding only two points to secure the first set with a commanding four-point lead. Though Ciszek rallied in the second set, landing three 9s, Harvinder’s unflinching focus and consistent shooting — scoring another 28 — enabled him to edge out Ciszek by a single point, extending his lead to 4-0.
Harvinder Singh delivered a hat-trick of 10s, including a perfect inner 10 (X), intensifying the pressure on his opponent.
Ciszek faltered with a 7 and followed with a 9, while Harvinder clinched the gold with a decisive 9 on his final arrow.
Haryana archer overcomes all odds
Hailing from a family of farmers from Ajit Nagar in Haryana, Harvinder faced significant adversity early in life. When he was just one-and-a-half-years-old, he contracted dengue and due to the side effects of some injections administered to him, both his legs were left impaired. Despite this early challenge, he found a passion for archery after getting inspiration from 2012 London Paralympics. He made his debut at the 2017 Para Archery World Championship, finishing seventh. A gold medal at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Para Games followed, and during the Covid-19 lockdown, his father turned their farm into an archery range to support his training. Harvinder made history by winning India’s first ever archery medal — a bronze — at the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago.