Harvinder changes fate to become para sports icon

Harvinder Singh, the Paris Paralympics gold medallist para archer, who was conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri, disclosed that he had quit archery three years after taking up the sport but made a comeback following his coach's advice, which involved changing his event from compound to recurve archery.

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A medal in Paris was Harvinder's second Paralympics medal after previously winning the historic bronze in Tokyo Games. Three years after winning India's first Paralympic archery medal, Harvinder made more history by earning the country's first gold in the sport at the Paris Games last year.

In 1992, at just 18 months old, Harvinder fell ill due to dengue fever and a local doctor administered him with an injection, which led to an impingement in his left leg. However, this setback did not deter him from dreaming big.

Harvinder took up archery just after watching the London 2012 Olympic Games on TV in the compound category under coaches Jiwanjot Singh Teja and Gaurav Sharma.

However, he quit three years later, but his coaches made him return to the sport and shifted him to the recurve event. He then made his debut on the world stage in 2017 at the World Archery Para Championships in Beijing, where he finished seventh. Since his international debut, he has won six medals, out of which two are Paralympic medals, which came in two successive editions.