Paris Paralympics: PM Modi congratulates para-archer Harvinder Singh on winning historic gold

New Delhi, Sep 5 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated Harvinder Singh for winning a historic maiden gold medal in the archery competition of the Paralympic Games in Paris on Wednesday, becoming the first Indian to bag a second successive medal in the Games adding to the bronze he claimed in Tokyo 2020.

In the gold medal match on Wednesday, Harvinder defeated Lukasz Ciszek of Poland 6-0 in the final, becoming the first Indian archer to win a gold medal in the Paralympic Games.

"A very special gold in Para Archery! Congratulations to Harvinder Singh for winning the Gold medal in the Men's Individual Recurve Open at the #Paralympics2024!," PM Modi said in a post on his social media account.

"His precision, focus and unwavering spirit are outstanding. India is very happy with his accomplishment," PM Modi wrote in his post.

With a consistent and rock-solid performance, Harvinder dominated the final, winning the first set 28-24. Up 2-0, Harvinder started the second set with two successive nines and then topped it with a 10 for 28 while Ciszek had three 9s for another narrow defeat.

Harvinder Singh, originally from Ajit Nagar village in Haryana's Kaithal district, belongs to a farmer family. When he was just one and a half years old, he contracted dengue and required injections for treatment. Unfortunately, the side effects of those injections led to the loss of function in his legs. Despite this setback, he discovered a passion for archery while watching the London Paralympics in 2012.

However, the deformity failed to prevent him from excelling in his chosen field.