Lagatar24 Desk
Shooter Manish Narwal smashed the Paralympic record to clinch India’s third gold in the ongoing Tokyo Games, while compatriot Singhraj Adana bagged the silver to make it a sensational one-two finish for the country here on Saturday.
The 19-year-old Narwal, who holds the world record in the category, shot a total of 218.2, a Paralympic record, to claim the yellow metal in his debut Games, reports The Telegraph.
The 39-year-old Adana, who had won the bronze in the P1 men’s 10m air pistol SH1 event on Tuesday, added a silver to his kitty with an effort of 216.7 as India continued its medal rush in the sport.
With his feat, Adana joins the elite list of Indians who have won multiple medals in the same edition of the Games.
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.
Russian Olympic Committee’s Sergey Malyshev took home the bronze with an effort of 196.8.
Narwal, who has an impairment in his right hand, had a sluggish start and was in danger of being eliminated after shots of 7.7 and 8.3 but the teenager from Faridabad held his nerve.
On the other hand, Adana was off to a flying start, leading the proceedings after 10 shots but slipped in the middle.
However, both Indians upped their games when it mattered the most, edging out the challenge of two Chinese shooters and Sergey to go against each other for the gold medal.
In the final series, Narwal, who took up shooting in 2016, shot 8.4 and 9.1 while Adana finished with 8.5 and 9.4.
Earlier in the qualifying round, Adana progressed to the medal round in fourth place with a total of 536 while Narwal shot 533 to qualify at seventh at the Asaka Shooting Range.
The other Indian in the fray, Akash failed to make the final, finishing 27th in the qualifying round.
Indian shooters have claimed a haul of five medals, including two gold, in the ongoing Games.
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.
