Paralympics: Singhraj defies the odds to win his second medal

Bengaluru, September 4: It has been raining medals for India at Paralympics and from the shooting range alone, they have grabbed till now with Singhraj Adana, clinching his second in the Japanese capital city.

Singhraj, who had earlier won a bronze medal in the P1 Men's 10M Air Pistol SH1 event, added the Mixed 50M Pistol SH1 silver to his kitty on Saturday (September 4).

At the Asaka Shooting Range, Singhraj progressed to the medal round in fourth place with a total of 536 and won the silver with a score of 216.7.

👏👏👏#IND's Singhraj Adhana wins his second medal of the #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics - a #Silver in the Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 Final! 🔥

It's 1⃣5⃣ medals for 🇮🇳! #ShootingParaSport pic.twitter.com/7h9yDG0MJK

— #Tokyo2020 for India (@Tokyo2020hi) September 4, 2021

And it was a double delight for India as Manish Narwal clinched India's third gold in Tokyo after the 19-year-old shot a total of 218.2, a new Paralympic Record.

Singhraj, Adana - who hails from Faridabad, Haryana - took up sports just four years back after his cousin encouraged him. He had served as the chairman of the Sainik School in Faridabad.

The 39-year-old, who is afflicted with polio and was making his Games debut and just like Avani Lekhara, became the second Indian in the Paralympics 2020 to win two individual medals.

Paralympics: Double delight for Avani and Lakshya

Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded Singhraj for his achievement on Twitter.

"The outstanding Singhraj Adhana does it again! He wins yet another medal, this time in the Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 event. India rejoices due to his feat. Congrats to him. Wishing him the very best for the future endeavours. #Paralympics #Praise4Para."

The outstanding Singhraj Adhana does it again! He wins yet another medal, this time in the Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 event. India rejoices due to his feat. Congrats to him. Wishing him the very best for the future endeavours. #Paralympics #Praise4Para. pic.twitter.com/EWa9gCRaor

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 4, 2021

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. P4 is a classification for the mixed 50m air pistol competition.

Some shooters compete in a seated position, while others take aim in a standing position as defined in the rules.

Talking about the hardships as a differently-abled person Singhraj said, "I was infected with polio at the age of one. During our days those precious 'two drops of life' (the polio vaccine) weren't available so you can imagine how difficult life would have been for me," said Singhraj.

But with two medals from his debut in Paralympics, Singhraj has proved that nothing in impossible in life.