Paralympics archery gold in bag, Harvinder sets sights on next challenges

NEW DELHI: Having successfully changed the colour of his medal from bronze at Tokyo Paralympics to gold at Paris, India's star para archer Harvinder Singh's next target is to continue his successful run and complete his PhD. The first Indian para archer to have won a Paralympics medal at Tokyo, Harvinder rewrote history when he bagged the country's maiden gold in the men's recurve event at Paris on Thursday.

"The preparations were going well in India at SAI Sonipat where I had both my coaches and that helped a lot. We came to France 15 days before (the event) and I was shooting well," he told the media on Friday while discussing his preparations for the Paralympics. "I was working on a few technical aspects. I wanted to go to Korea about 3-4 months ago but the coach was called here at SAI Sonipat," said Harvinder, who has a disability in his legs following a medical mishap when he was one-and-a-half years old.

A local doctor administered him an injection which left him unable to move his legs properly after he had contracted dengue. The first Indian to win a Paralympics medal in archery at Tokyo, Harvinder said he felt what the pressure of expectations means while he was preparing for Paris. "The way the others would wish 'best of luck', it would be in a way that would convey to me that I now needed to change the colour (of the medal). It tells you the kind of exceptions that are there," he said.

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Harvinder, who was drawn into para archery after the 2012 Olympics, said he aims to finish his PhD which had to be put on the hold as his career took off in sports. "I was active in studies until 2018. From 2012, I would study in the morning and practice in the evening and there would be days when I would have two sessions," he said. "I got busier in sports after I got the medal (gold in Asian Para Games) in 2018 and because of all of that, my PhD got delayed."

"I am doing PhD in economics from the Punjab University in Patiala, and since I have to win medals for the country, preparations for big tournaments also happened at big level which does not give me time, but I hope to finish my PhD in the next few months," Harvinder said. The 33-year-old also wants to relive the experience of seeing the Indian flag held up high and the national anthem being played as he wishes to win more medals.

"Every athlete dreams to win the gold medals, that their country's flag flies high, the national anthem gets sung… all that happened here and I would hope that I am able to replicate it in the next competitions such as the World Championships," he said. Harvinder said he was mentally prepared to tackle the pressure in the Paralympics.

"I had handled the pressure before, of the semifinals and of the podium. I had it in my mind that I have to win (the gold), but the challenge was to bring it out in terms of performance and we were successful in it," he said.

Harvinder hoped his feat in Paris is able to inspire lot many para athletes and bring more competitors to archery in general. "The next challenge for me is to maintain this performance. I had got a lot of phone calls and messages after winning the the medal in Tokyo. This medal will contribute in the growth of para archery and archery in India," he said.