Singhraj had contracted Covid-19 three months ago and was hospitalised for 15 days that had abruptly halted his training regime.
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Indian para-athlete Singhraj Adhana bagged the bronze medal in the P1 Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 final of the Tokyo Paralympics on Tuesday. The achievement is undoubtedly a massive one as India is well and truly having its best year at the Paralympics so far. However, the shooter was of the view that he could have silver, or even gold if he had not been infected with COVID-19 earlier this year. Singhraj had contracted Covid-19 three months ago and was hospitalised for 15 days. According to him, his training regime was brought to an abrupt halt due to the infection and the succeeding hospitalisation. Had he not been infected, Singhraj said, he would have won a gold or a silver medal.
“I contracted Covid in May this year. I was down with fever and was hospitalised, when I recovered I felt like a second birth. I resumed training one month after recovering fully from Covid, if not for Covid, I might have had won gold or silver,” Singhraj told Indian news agency ANI after his event at the Paralympics. “Postponement of Tokyo Games didn’t benefit me as I was in a good rhythm in 2020. If Paralympics were staged in 2020, more shooters would have won medals and I myself would have had a medal of a different colour,” he added.
The shooter had finished in sixth place in the qualifying round and started positively in the medal match as he was placed in the top 3 during the first 10 shots while amassing a total of 99.6 points. Singhraj was aiming for gold in the event and had complete faith in his abilities. However, he said that he felt bad for compatriot Manish Narwal, who got eliminated during the final round.
“I had faith in my abilities and I was aiming for gold not just for the top three positions. I had prepared for the top spot,” said Singhraj. “When I was in the fourth position I saw all athletes ahead of me were Chinese and meanwhile, Manish Narwal too was eliminated. I felt very bad and said to myself ‘now there is no chance of making a mistake.’ I remembered God and registered a perfect shot to reach third (position),” he added.
The para-athlete said that he has his eyes set for the next Paralympic Games three years later in 2024 in the French capital of Paris. “I have designed an international level shooting range at home. I have named it ‘Mission Olympic’ and have written on them Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024,” Singhraj signed off.
Adhana won India’s eighth medal in the form of a bronze at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics. Singharaj, who competes in the men’s 10m Air Pistol (SH1) event, finished with a total of 216.8 points. This was India’s second medal from shooting. The first was won by Avani Lekhara in the form of a gold medal in the women’s 10m Air Rifle standing (SH1) event on Monday. Manish Narwal, who had topped the qualification round finished in the seventh position with a total of 135.8 points.
