New Delhi, Jan 29: Harvinder Singh, the Paris Paralympics gold medallist para archer, who was conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri, disclosed that he had quit archery three years after taking up the sport but made a comeback following his coach's advice, which involved changing his event from compound to recurve archery.
A medal in Paris was Harvinder's second Paralympics medal after previously winning the historic bronze in Tokyo Games. Three years after winning India's first Paralympic archery medal, Harvinder made more history by earning the country's first gold in the sport at the Paris Games last year.
In 1992, at just 18 months old, Harvinder fell ill due to dengue fever and a local doctor administered him with an injection, which led to an impingement in his left leg. However, this setback did not deter him from dreaming big.
Harvinder took up archery just after watching the London 2012 Olympic Games on TV in the compound category under coaches Jiwanjot Singh Teja and Gaurav Sharma. However, he quit three years later, but his coaches made him return to the sport and shifted him to the recurve event.
He then made his debut on the world stage in 2017 at the World Archery Para Championships in Beijing, where he finished seventh. Since his international debut, he has won six medals, out of which two are Paralympic medals, which came in two successive editions.
Speaking exclusively to IANS, Harvinder reflected on his journey and said, "I made my international debut in 2017, and since then, I've been continuously playing for my country and winning medals. I feel like my hard work is paying off. There have been many ups and downs, challenges have come, but facing all of them and moving forward is what a true athlete does.
"When I look back at my journey (my international career), I see that there are some competitions where I won medals, and somewhere I didn't. But I learn from my losses, and winning gives me the strength to keep moving forward."
But he also faced hardships in his journey. He competed at the Asian Para Games in 2018, just after his mother had passed away. But his life turned on its head when he struck gold at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Indonesia, becoming the first athlete from India to win a gold medal in Para archery at a major competition.
Harvinder, who is pursuing a doctorate degree in economics from Panjab University, shared the challenges he encountered throughout his journey and said the athlete is always mentally prepared for challenges and to overcome them.
"When I started in 2012, I quit the game after three years because my performance wasn't improving. I felt like I couldn't do archery anymore. Then my coach changed my event and got me back into the game. Just 20 days before the 2018 Asian Games, my mother passed away, and that phase was extremely challenging. Then came the lockdown in 2020, but I didn't stop practicing; I used to practice in the fields. We as athletes are always mentally prepared for challenges," said Harvinder.
Speaking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally congratulating athletes for winning medals at the grand arena, Harvinder shared, "Receiving a call from the Prime Minister after winning a medal is very motivating. We tell our competitors that our PM called us after we won the medal, and they get amazed."
"We eagerly wait for the moment when we win a medal, knowing that we will get a call from the PM, and have a chance to talk to him," he added.
A native of Kaithal village in Haryana, who was conferred with Arjuna award in 2021, shared his excitement for winning the Padma Shri award, the fourth highest civilian honour, and said he can't wait to go to Rahstrapati Bhawan once again and receive the award from the President Droupadi Murmu.
"I have visited the Rashtrapati Bhavan before when I received the Arjuna Award. I am now eagerly waiting for the moment when I will receive an award from the President," said the 33-year-old, who became the country's first para archer to be conferred with Padma Shri.
Harvinder signed off by highlighting the government's support for the para athletes and also called for more policies for the upliftment of the para sports in the country.
"The government's support has been good from the beginning. I've been a consistent part of the TOPS scheme since 2019. PCI and SAI have been continuously supportive. But there's still a lot that needs to be done in India," he said.
"The mindset of people is changing, though. Para sports are now receiving as much support as able-bodied sports. Many states still need to bring policies for this. States like Haryana, Punjab, and others have good policies, but in several states, para sports are still not given enough recognition, especially when it comes to job opportunities. These issues still need to be addressed," he concluded.
