Tokyo Games bronze-winner Harvinder Singh became the first Indian archer to clinch gold in the Men's Individual Recurve Open Final on Wednesday, September 4. (Full Paralympics Coverage | More Sports News)
He defeated Poland’s Lukasz Ciszek 6-0 (28-24, 28-27, 29-25) in the men’s individual recurve open final.
Harvinder, the first Indian Paralympic medallist in archery, had earlier overturned a 1-3 deficit to triumph over Iran's Mohammad Reza Arab Ameri 7-3.
The 33-year-old Indian, who lost to Kevin Mather of the USA in the Tokyo semifinals before securing a bronze, narrowly dropped the first set 25-26 and tied the second 27-27.
Rakesh Kumar and Sheetal Devi had won a bronze medal in the mixed compound open category on Monday.
Harvinder, the first Indian Paralympic medallist in archery, dispatched world No. 9 Hector Julio Ramirez of Colombia 6-2 in the quarterfinals, having earlier eliminated Tseng Lung-Hui of Chinese Taipei 7-3 in the round of 32.
In the pre-quarters, he rallied from an initial set deficit to edge out Setiawan Setiawan of Indonesia 6-2. He became the first Indian archer to enter the Paralympic final when he overturned a 1-3 deficit to triumph over Iran's Mohammad Reza Arab Ameri 7-3.
In each of his victories, Harvinder showcased his resilience, consistently staging comebacks to stay in the hunt. In the final, Harvinder Singh displayed a different level of precision, conceding only two points to secure the first set with a commanding four-point lead.
Though Ciszek rallied in the second set, landing three 9s, Harvinder's unflinching focus and consistent shooting -- scoring another 28 -- enabled him to edge out Ciszek by a single point, extending his lead to 4-0.
Harvinder Singh delivered a hat-trick of 10s, including a perfect inner 10 (X), intensifying the pressure on his opponent.
Ciszek faltered with a 7 and followed with a 9, while Harvinder clinched the gold with a decisive 9 on his final arrow.
In the semifinal, Harvinder narrowly dropped the first set 25-26 and tied the second 27-27.
Maintaining his composure, Harvinder delivered splendid performances with successive 10s on his final arrows of the third and fourth sets, clinching them 27-25 and 26-24 to take a 5-3 lead.
Needing a set win in the final end to avoid a shoot-off, Harvinder faced a strong challenge from Ameri, who opened with an X (inner 10) and followed with an 8 to level the set at 18-18, setting up a tense final arrow.
Under pressure, Ameri faltered with a 7, allowing Harvinder to close out the match with an 8 and advance.
In recurve open class, archers shoot from a standing position at a distance of 70m at a 122cm target made up of 10 concentric circles, scoring from 10 points down to 1 point from the centre outwards.
(With PTI inputs)
