Bhagat, Narwal win gold as India’s medal tally swells to 17

The 19-year-old Narwal shot a total of 218.2, a Paralympic record, for gold in P4 Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 event while Bhagat humbled Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell in the men’s singles SL3 class final for a historic yellow metal. India now have four gold, seven silver and six bronze medals to be placed 26th with one day left in the Games.

India had won just four medals in the last edition in Rio while the total count from the 1972 edition when the country competed for the first time till these Tokyo Games was 12.

More medals are in store for India on the final day on with shuttlers Suhas Yathiraj and Krishna Nagar sailing into the men’s singles finals of SL4 class and SH6 class respectively. Tarun Dhillon too stayed in contention for a bronze after losing his semifinals while the duo of Bhagat and Palak Kohli will also feature in the third-place play-off in the mixed SL3-SL5 class.

Narwal smashed the Paralympic record to clinch India’s third gold of the current edition of the Games while compatriot Singhraj Adana bagged the silver to make it a sensational one-two finish for the country.

Narwal also holds the world record in the category. “I’m very happy,” said Narwal who hails from Ballabhgarh in Haryana. Narwal grew up wa nti ng to be a footballer.

Unfortunately, he c ou ld not fulfil his footballing dreams due to a congenital ailment in his right hand.

His wrestler father Dilbagh tried everything to make sure that his son’s deformity did not hold hi m back. I n 2016, on the suggestion of a family friend, Narwal joi ne d a ne a rby shooting range run by coach Rakesh Thakur. That changed Narwal’s life and he instantly developed a keen interest in the sport and started doing practice regularly.

At that time he did not know about Paralympic Games but his talent was spotted by coach Jai Prakash Nautiyal. Narwal won gold medal in P1 and silver in P4 in 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta.

The 39-year-old Adana, who competes with polio-impaired lower limbs, created a piece of history as he joins the elite list of Indians who have won multiple medals in the same edition of the Games.

He had won a bronze i n the P1 men’s 10m air pistol SH1 event on Tuesday.

Shooter Avani Lekhara, who won a gold and bronze in the ongoing Games and Joginder Singh Sodhi, who fetched one silver and two bronze medals in the 1984 Paralympics, are the other two Indians who have achieved the feat.

BHAGAT MAKES HISTORY

With badminton making its debut at the Paralympics this year, world champion and pre-tournament favourite Bhagat became the first Indian to win a gold medal in the sport. In the same category, Manoj Sarkar also bagged a bronze after defeating Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara in the third place play-off.

In SL3 classification, athletes with lower limb impairment compete.

The top seeded Bhagat, also Asian champion, showed great mental fortitude as he prevailed 21-14 21-17 over second seeded Bethell in a thrilling final that lasted 45 minutes.

“This is very special to me, it’s my dream come true. Bethell really pushed me but I just kept my calm and played to my strengths,” said Bhagat, who had contracted polio when he was four years old.

The 33-year-old from Odisha also remains in contention for a bronze medal in mixed doubles SL3-SU5 class. He and his partner Palak Kohli will meet Japanese pair of Daisuke Fujihara and Akiko Sugino in the bronze medal play off on Sunday.

The 31-year-old Sarkar, whose right leg was affected after he contracted polio at the age of one, displayed great resilience during his 22-20 21-13 win over Fujihara.