Harvinder Singh won gold in the men’s individual recurve open competition, three years after earning India’s first Paralympic medal in Para archery.
Three years after winning India’s first Paralympic archery medal, Harvinder Singh made more history by earning the country’s first gold in the sport. After the scoreboard showed that he won the final of the men’s individual recurve open competition, he took a deep breath and let the victory sink in.
“The thing that was in my mind was, ‘I have done it for India’ because at the last Paralympics, I just won bronze. I had to change the colour and perform well, and these are the things that I have done,” Singh said.
“Then finally, I took a long breath and said, ‘Oh, I finally got the gold.’”
Singh won the gold medal match against Poland’s Lukasz Ciszek in straight sets, shooting the centre of the target four times in the process. The crowd at the Invalides clapped after every arrow the Indian athlete shot.
Mohammad Reza Arab Ameri of Iran took bronze.
Expect the unexpected
Archery is a game in which you cannot expect anything to happen – everything is unexpected, the champion says. That is why he focused on each and every arrow, and concentrated on each match without thinking about the colour of the medal.
“Only then I can move to the next round, and one by one, I went to the final and won gold,” he said.
“One important thing that we have to use in archery is confidence. If you are confident in your shooting, you can land the arrow in the bullseye.”
It was his confidence that took him to the top of the podium. Singh overcame a ninth place slot from the ranking round to win gold, and he celebrated with teammates, including Para archery star Sheetal Devi, who watched in the stands.
Devi and Rakesh Kumar captured bronze in the mixed team compound open, India’s first Para archery medal of the Paris 2024 Games.
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“I will celebrate with my teammates because they will celebrate even more than me,” Singh said, adding that he was motivated to win after his teammates took bronze.
“But the celebration will be going on for a few months.”
A history-maker, he said his life changed drastically after he became India’s first Para archery medallist. And now he expects his life to change even more.
“After Tokyo, my life totally changed. I got a status – everyone recognised me as the first Paralympic medallist in archery. Now they can recognise me as the first-ever gold medallist in archery,” he said with a smile. “It means a lot to me.”
Twelve-year journey
Singh took up archery just after watching the London 2012 Olympic Games on TV.
“I liked how archery is unpredictable. When you shoot, when your arrow is going to the target, that one second is very precious,” the Paralympic champion explained.
But he also faced hardships along the way. He competed at the Asian Para Games in 2018, just after his mother had passed away. The 33-year-old athlete said he felt his mother’s presence when he was competing at the Paralympic Games in Paris.
“I was actually thinking about her before the matches and even after winning this gold medal about how happy she would be if she were here. That is a thing that unfortunately we just have to move on. That’s the reality.
“She was always on my mind.”
Now that he has realised one of his biggest dreams, Singh is ready to relax and spend some time with his family. Then he will start a quest for a gold medal at the World Championships – the only medal missing from his collection now.
“I want to continue playing for India to win medals for my country, making Indians, my coaches and family proud,” he said. “That is my goal even now.”
By Ayano Shimizu for the IPC
