Tokyo Paralympics: India’s medal tally rises to 8 as Singhraj Adhana wins bronze in men’s 10m air pistol

NewDelhi: Adding to the list of medals in the Tokyo Paralympics, India’s Singhraj Adhana on Tuesday won a bronze medal in the men’s 10m air pistol SH1 final. Singhraj, who was sixth in the qualification stage, started off brilliantly to go top of the rankings in the first stage of the final.

The 39-year-old, who is afflicted with polio and was making his Games debut, shot a total of 216.8 to finish the event in third place after qualifying for the eight-man final as the sixth-best shooter.

However, Manish Narwal, who topped the qualifications with 575, was eliminated in the seventh-place when it mattered the most. This is India’s second medal in shooting. Avani Lekhara won the women’s 10m air rifle standing finals (SH 1) on Monday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hailed the shooter for winning the Paralympics bronze at Tokyo, saying he worked tremendously hard and achieved remarkable successes.

“Exceptional performance by Singhraj Adhana! India’s talented shooter brings home the coveted Bronze Medal. He has worked tremendously hard and achieved remarkable successes,” Modi tweeted. “Congratulations to him and best wishes for the endeavours ahead,” the prime minister said.

Hovering around the top three, Adana dropped out of contention with his poor 19th shot but managed to get back in the reckoning with his 20th attempt as China’s Xiaolong Lou got 8.6. China, though, dominated the finals with defending champion Chao Yang (237.9 — Paralympic record) and Huang Xing (237.5) winning the gold and silver medals respectively.

Before his 9.1 saw him slip to fourth, Singhraj had moved up to the third place as the Chinese shooter endured a low series. As the pistol is held with one hand only, athletes in SH1 category have an impairment affecting one arm and/or the legs, for example resulting from amputations or spinal cord injuries. P1 is a classification for the men’s 10 air pistol competition. Some shooters compete in a seated position, while others take aim in a standing position as defined in the rules.

Bureau Report