Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur) - Hindustan Times (Jaipur) - City
To ‘We were emotional rule see our tricolour the stage’
Not one eye was dry when shooters Manish Narwal and Singhraj Adhana won a gold and silver medal, respectively, at the Paralympics. While Narwal won gold in the 50-metre event, Adhana bagged the silver.
Adhana, who has also won a bronze, trained hard to give such a power-packed performance. “Lockdown ki wajah se training rukne ke bavajoot maine ghar pe personal range bana kar mehenat ki. Training ki wajah se maine apni wife ko kayi baar nazar-andaaz kiya aur main usey sorry bolna chahoonga. Jab jeetne ke baad video call ki toh hum dono kuch bol nahin paye, bas rote rahe,” says Adhana, who battled health issues, but stayed persistent. “I suffered from Covid-19 recently and hence my lungs are affected.
We were required to always wear a mask at the Paralympics Games, so that was slightly difficult,” he adds.
Narwal was overwhelmed seeing our national flag dominate the winner’s stage. “Bhaiya (Adhana) bhi the saath mein aur hum dono ka medal aa gaya toh poore stage par humara tiranga lehra raha tha. We were emotional to see our tricolour rule the stage,” he says. Crediting the gold medal to his attitude of never giving up, Narwal says, “We shouldn’t give up when things don’t work for us. I missed out a medal in the 10-metre category, but I didn’t give up. I prepared for the next match and won a gold medal.”
India rose to its feet to applaud Harvinder Singh who clinched India’s first-ever archery medal at the Paralympics. Singh had trained on farmlands to procure a bronze medal for his nation. “Maine Covid-19 ke dauraan kheton mein target set up karke subah shaam practice ki,” he says.
Archery is a game of concentration and wit. To maintain his calm, Singh took to reading.“mentally healthy rehne ke liye aur anxiety control karne ke liye novel padhta tha training ke saath saath. Sikhism ki history aur doosri literature padhta raha taki mentally healthy rahoon,” he adds.
Singh’s life had many ups and downs, yet he managed to rise above the challenges. He says, “Zindagi hume har gali ke mod pe hurdles deti hai. Uska mukabala karna hi ek khiladi ki life hai. Meri life mein sabse bada struggle tha jab main PHD kar raha tha. PHD ke liye jab mujhe synopsis deni thi tab Para Asian games ka time aa gaya. Usi dauraan meri mother ki death ho gayi, toh woh bhi bahut mushkil raha. Phir bhi maine haar nahin maani aur Para Asian Games mein gold medal jeet ke laya.”
Singh has a spiritual side to him, too. “Gurbani sunta hoon, meditate karta hoon aur isse mera concentration badhiya hota hai,” he says.
Singh, who loves to listen to Punjabi music, says Sidhu Moose Wala is his favourite. Crediting his victory to his coaching staff, Singh says, “Whatever I am today is all because of them.”
Naturally, his family, too, was delighted with his win and celebrated with fireworks! “Medal jeetne ke chaar ghante baad un se baat hui. Badiya mohol chal raha tha,” he adds.