Harvinder Singh made history on Wednesday at the dazzling Invalides in Paris by going where no Indian archer has ever gone in the annals of the Olympics or Paralympics. In the sport that has historically been associated with disappointments and lost chances, Harvinder won gold in the Men’s Individual Recurve Open Para Archery event, increasing India’s medal total to 22 at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
And Harvinder achieved this by conserving his best for the very end of the match against Lukasz Ciszek of Poland. In Set 1, he hit9,9, 10. In Set 2, he hit9,9, 10. Then he fired 10, 10, 9, seeing the finish line. To not fire an arrow outside the gold zone on the target in recurve archery over 70 meters was an incredible demonstration of matchplay under duress.
At the Paralympics, Harvinder is no stranger to firing clutch arrows under duress. or to create history. He had survived three tiebreaker shootouts to win India’s first-ever medal in archery at the Summer Games in Tokyo. It was a real emotional rollercoaster, but years of practicing being composed under pressure paid off in the end.
Harvinder Singh has struck gold with unmatched precision in the Para Archery Men’s Individual Recurve Open at #Paralympics2024! 🥇🎯
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) September 4, 2024
This monumental victory marks him as the first-ever Gold Medalist in Para Archery 🏹 at the Paralympics, embodying the vision of our PM Shri… pic.twitter.com/ztQc8t947D
He reached the final without the need for a single shootoff in Paris, but he also made some extremely significant 10s along the road. He overcame a sluggish start to upset Taipei’s 65-year-old veteran Tseng Lung-Hui 7-3 in the round of 32. Harvinder lost the opening set to Setiawan of Indonesia in the round of 32. but used 10s to open the following two sets in order to put pressure on his opponent and won 6-2.
He used the final arrow in three sets to shoot tens in the quarterfinal match against Hector Ramirez of Colombia, and he did the same in the semifinal match against Mohammad Reza Arab Ameri of Iran. He made a few errant 7s and 8s in each of the matches, so he wasn’t perfect. However, he once again shown good pressure management skills and was able to locate the large arrow just in time.
Born into a farming family, Harvinder is a resident of Ajit Nagar village in the Kaithal district of Haryana. He first got dengue when he was about a year old. He had to have injections for treatment, but the side effects resulted in chronic leg injuries that ultimately caused him to lose his functionality.
The Tokyo semifinal defeat infuriated Harvinder. He went 4-6 against USA’s Kevin Mather, who went on to win the gold. In a fiercely contested five-setter, Harvinder performed well to extend the match but was unable to win it. “When your hard work pays off, it feels amazing. He had told reporters at the time, “This bronze is good, but next time I will work even harder and try to improve my game so much that I can win gold.”
