Tokyo Games gold medallist shooter Manish Narwal displayed pluck and courage in ample measure before settling for a silver medal in the men's 10m air pistol (SH1) final at the Paralympic Games in Paris on Friday.
The 22-year-old Manish, winner of 50m pistol gold in Tokyo three years ago, looked determined to do an encore in Paris, leapfrogging from No.5 to the top of the heap. But just when the gold looked well within his grasp, Manish came up with a series of poor shots in the '9s', which saw him drop to second place and finally settle for silver with a score of 234.9.
Veteran South Korean marksman, 37-year-old Jo Jeongdu upped his game just when it mattered to clinch gold with a score of 237.4, missing the Paralympic Games record by mere decimals.
Manish, who comes from a family of shooters and is the recipient of the highest sporting honour the Khel Ratna, had qualified for the final in fifth place.
Manish had shot a total of 565 in the qualificaton round to enter the eight-man final.
The other Indian in the event, 17-year-old Rudransh Khandelwal missed the final, finishing ninth with a total score of 561.
In SH1 class, athletes are able to hold their gun without difficulty and shoot from a standing or sitting position in a wheelchair or chair.
Manish's father Dilbag said that his son desperately wanted to win the 10m air pistol medal in Paris.
"Yes, he did win the 50m pistol gold in Tokyo but his aim was to win a medal in 10m air pistol as well. He topped the qualification in Tokyo, but unfortunately, finished seventh in the finals," Dilbag told PTI.
"He called us a little while back and said he was sorry that he couldn't bring the gold medal. But we told him, it's a massive achievement after the Tokyo disappointment," said Dilbag.
Dilbagh, a former state-level free-style wrestler who runs a machine-manufacturing unit, said Manish started shooting in 2016, while younger son Shiva took up the sport a year later.
"My daughter Shikha too is an international shooter, though she is currently out of the national squad," said Dilbagh, a 48kg freestyle grappler during his playing days.
Shedding light on how Manish took up shooting, the senior Narwal said, he was looking for a sport his son could pursue as he had an impairment in his right hand.
"Someone suggested that Manish could take up shooting sport. He was passionate about football but we knew there was no future for him in the game because of his disability," said Dilbagh about his elder son.
Dilbag said initially the two brothers suffered a lot as it was extremely difficult to import pistols and specialised ammunition.
"For a very long time they didn't even have their own pistols, but now, by God's grace, all three kids have no problem."
Just when things were looking up for the three siblings in the family, tragedy struck when they lost their eldest brother last year in November and Manish, Shiva and Shikha all went into depression.
"My eldest son, Manjeet, died in a road mishap on November 1 last year after which the three went into depression. He was not a shooter.
"A water tanker hit him from behind and crushed him under the wheels. Shikha suffered the most due to the tragedy and lost her place in the national squad. She has not been able to overcome the loss still. All three were very much attached to Manjeet."
Manish, nicknamed 'Haryana Roadways bus' by his coaches because he is always ahead of his rivals in competition quite like the buses in the state, which are driven at breakneck speeds, said, "This medal is the reward of eight years of hard work. I cried after winning this medal.
"I did everything possible to win this medal, changed my technique, tried to remove all the shortcomings in my training and implemented all lot of learnings from Tokyo. I have worked with three coaches between Tokyo and now to get this elusive medal," he added.
