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Manish Narwal wins gold: All you want to know: Fan of Bolt, Messi wins shooting medal for India

Manish Narwal made India proud on Saturday (September 4) when he won gold in the Mixed 50M Pistol SH category in the Tokyo Paralympics. Here's his story.

Manish Narwal

Tokyo, September 4: Manish Narwal made India proud on Saturday (September 4) when he won gold in the Mixed 50M Pistol SH category in the Tokyo Paralympics. His is a story of incredible determination to overcome a congenital impairment that he was born with.

The 19-year-old Narwal never got bogged down in realising his dream to become a sportsperson, and took to shooting in 2016 as a 15-year-old. It did not take him too long to make storm in the world shooting as he began to win medals in national and international competitions.

Narwal even created a world record earlier this year in the Para Shooting World Cup in his category, that underlined his status as a medal prospectus in the Tokyo Paralympics. Narwal did not disappoint either winning the yellow coloured metal and it became all the more sweeter for India because Singharaj Adana won the silver to make it an India 1-2 in the event.

Narwal has always been a fan of sports especially football and athletics. It is no wonder then that the Faridabad-born shooting star adores two of the best in those sports - Lionel Messi and Usain Bolt.

A left-handed shooter, Narwal began training under national para shooting coach Subhash Rana and made an early impression.

"I noticed that I was different when I was in the first grade. Something was wrong with my right arm. I cried a lot. I was afraid to be in front of people.

"And then I always wanted to be a footballer as I loved outdoor sport. But due to my impairment, I couldn't play the game beyond local club level. A close friend of my father told him to think about introducing me to shooting. My father took me to the 10X Shooting Academy in Ballabgarh, run by coach Rakesh Thakur. Had he not been there, I wouldn't have excelled in the sport. I owe my success to him," Narwal had said.

It was his stated dream to win a Paralympic medal, and he did it in his first appearance in Tokyo and that too a gold. Way to go Manish Narwal.

Story first published: Saturday, September 4, 2021, 12:40 [IST]
Other articles published on Sep 4, 2021