On Friday, August 30, Indian para shooter Manish Narwal clinched silver medal in men’s 10m air pistol SH1 event at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. The Indian shooter scored a total of 234.9 points to finish second in the men’s 10m air pistol SH1 final at Chateauroux. Manish’s medal increased India’s medal tally to four in the current edition of the tournament. After his second-spot finish, Manish’s father revealed that his medal is dedicated to his brother who passed away in a road accident in 2022.
The shooter’s father revealed that Manish lost his elder brother in a road accident which took a big toll on him emotionally. He also said that the 22-year-old was very close to his older elder brother Manjeet Singh, and mourned for days after his death. Manish’s father Dilbagh Singh told The Indian Express, “From November 1, 2022, to today, Manish has remembered his brother every single day for these 668 days. It took Manish six months to pick up the gun again. Manish’s Paralympics medal is for Manjeet. Manjeet would be cheering from the heavens.”
Hailing from Ballabgarh in Faridabad, Manish suffered a nerve damage of right shoulder during a medical treatment by doctors at the time of his birth. It hampered Manish’s right arm movement. However, his father, who runs a fabrication factory, persuaded him to pick up the sport. Talking about the same, Dilbagh said, “Minutes after his birth, a mistake by doctors resulted in the nerve damage. He was very young to understand what happened to him. But he was a very happy child. He would play with other children and also observe closely whatever sports they played.”
He continued, “We never discussed that he is a person with a disability and that’s the attitude he has grown up with.” Dilbagh also spoke about Manish’s training and said, “The key for him was finding the right balance and posture. Once he won medals and got his own pistol, dry/shadow shooting helped us to find the balance for his body. He developed his upper-body strength. It helped him maintain a right posture for hours with dry shooting. This also helped him develop accuracy with almost perfect balanced posture of the left hand. In 2018, he also made it to the NRAI national squad in normal category and it helped him gain confidence too.”