Paralympics: Singhraj clinches bronze in shooting

Bengaluru, August 31: India's para shooter Singhraj Adhana won the bronze in the 10M air pistol SH 1 category with a total score of 216.8 to take the country's total medal tally to eight at the Paralympics 2020 Games currently underway in Tokyo.

The other Indian who qualified for the finals -- Manish Narwal -- had to settle for seventh-place finish. His cumulative score was 135.8.

Abhinav Bindra, who won India its first invidual gold medal in shooting at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was one of the earliest to congratulate Singhraj on his accomplishment.

"Congratulations Singhraj Adhana on winning the Bronze medal in the men's 10M Air Pistol SH1 at the #Tokyo2020 Paralympics #Praise4Para," Bindra tweeted from his official handle.

India has now won two gold medals, four silver and two bronze in the Paralympics 2020 Games which concludes in the Japanese capital city on Sunday (September 5).

Singhraj had qualified for the eight-man final as the sixth best shooter, while Manish topped the qualifying round with 575 points, a form, which he could not carry into the finals.

In the finals, hovering around the top three, Singhraj dropped out of contention with his poor 19th shot, but still 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.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated Singhraj on Twitter for his achievement.

Exceptional performance by Singhraj Adhana! India's talented shooter brings home the coveted Bronze Medal. He has worked tremendously hard and achieved remarkable successes. Congratulations to him and best wishes for the endeavours ahead. #Paralympics #Praise4Para.