Harvinder Singh: Legs Impaired At 2, Completed PhD, Now India's 1st Paralympic Gold Medallist Archer

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 USA 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