Harvinder Singh Makes History as First Indian to Win Gold in Para Archery at Paris Paralympics

India shines with record-breaking performances in para athletics, clinching multiple medals, including five golds, nine silvers, and 10 bronzes, placing 13th overall.

Harvinder Singh became the first Indian archer to win a gold medal at the Paralympics, achieving this historic feat at the ongoing Paris Paralympics. Singh dominated the final, defeating Poland’s Lukasz Ciszek 6-0 in a one-sided match. His stellar performance added to India’s best-ever Paralympics campaign, which now boasts a total of 24 medals.

Harvinder, a 33-year-old archer from Haryana, has a leg impairment caused by dengue treatment during his early childhood. Despite this, he excelled in five consecutive matches, showing no signs of fatigue or nerves, and made history for his country by clinching the gold medal. This victory is even more special as it follows his bronze medal win at the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago.

In addition to Singh’s victory, club thrower Dharambir also claimed gold with an Asian record-breaking throw of 34.92m in the F51 category, while fellow Indian Pranav Soorma secured the silver with a throw of 34.59m. These remarkable achievements contributed to India’s position in the overall medal standings, placing the country 13th with three more days of competition left.

The Indian contingent celebrated further success on Tuesday with World Champion shot-putter Sachin Sarjerao Khilari winning silver in the F46 category and setting a new Asian record with a 16.32m throw. High jumpers Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu added to the medal tally by taking silver and bronze, respectively, in the T63 category, while Ajeet Singh and Sundar Singh Gurjar claimed silver and bronze in the javelin throw F46 final.

India’s athletes have surpassed all expectations, making this the nation’s most successful Paralympic campaign yet.

Reference:

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