Shooter Manish Narwal won India’s third shooting medal at the Paris Paralympics 2024 by clinching silver in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 Final on Friday, August 30. Manish earned 234.9 points and competed closely with Jeongdu Jo from Korea, who won the gold medal with 237.4 points.
Manish follows up his gold in Tokyo with a silver
Manish emerged victorious in the mixed SH1 50m pistol event at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, securing the gold medal.
The SH1 shooting classification consists of athletes with restricted mobility in their arms, lower body, or those missing limbs. The young adult struggled at the beginning of the day, scoring 5 10+ points in the first 10 shots of Stage 1 and not being in medal contention at that time.
After Stage 2 began, Manish flipped a switch and managed to score 3 shots above 10 in the following 4 shots.
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The 22-year-old discovered his groove at the perfect moment, surpassing the Olympic record holder and China’s Chao Yang to claim the top position, much to the delight of Indian fans. Still, Manish managed to score over 10 points only once in the previous 8 shots, causing Korea’s Jo to surpass him and widen the lead.
In the end, Manish had to settle for second place with a silver medal after his impressive performance that resulted in India winning its 3rd shooting medal and 4th overall at the Paris Paralympics. 22-year-old Manish remained calm and composed, smiling despite missing his perfect shots in the last two series.
How Manish’s determination helped him grab 2 Paralympic medals?
Even though he had a birth defect in his right hand and grew up in a humble family, Manish discovered his love for shooting in 2016 after visiting a nearby shooting range with his family. Immediately attracted to the sport, he started visiting the range consistently. At first, Manish didn’t know about the Paralympics but he still liked competing with other athletes.
Coach Jai Prakash Nautiyal promptly acknowledged his skill, leading to Manish’s international debut at the 2017 Bangkok World Cup. At that competition, he secured the top prize in the P1 – 10m Air Pistol SH1 category and broke a Junior World Record in both the qualifying round and the final round.
Under the guidance of High Performance Coach Jai Prakash Nautiyal and National Coach Subhash Rana, Manish Narwal continued to thrive, winning multiple medals at championships and world cups, establishing himself as a top para shooter. Manish, who has won gold medals at the Paralympics and Asian Games, also earned a bronze at the 2022 Asian Para Games.
