Until 2024, he was India's only medallist in archery at either the Olympics or the Paralympics. In 2024, Harvinder Singh went one better. He became India's only gold medallist in archery at either the Olympic or the Paralympics.
It was a stunning display from Harvinder for his second Paralympic medal, as right through the competition, he stood head and shoulders above the rest of the field. What set him apart? The ability to find big scores at clutch moments. Set-winning and match-winning moments. It has always been a criticism of Indian archers both in the Olympics and Paralympics that they are never able to find their best shots in those critical moments. On the biggest stage for him, Harvinder flipped the script.
All through the competition, he made a habit of being ice-cold under pressure. Across the quarterfinal and semifinal alone, he hit six set-winning tens. He was under big pressure too, having dropped the first set in the semifinal and tied it in the quarters. He needed those clutch arrows to pull him further in the competition. What fails other Indian archers usually was Harvinder's biggest strength, and it was no accident.
Harvinder had seen the archery event at the Olympics, and had come to the conclusion that his third shots in each set would have to be his best, he would need 10s in those shots more than others. So, his coach Jiwanjot Singh Teja set him scenarios in such a way. "I've hit a ten now, you need to hit an X," the coach would tell him in training. They trained for these moments, and that's why Harvinder eventually stood on the top step of the Paralympic podium.
HISTORY MADE IN PARIS �� �� ��
Harvinder Singh becomes the first Indian Para athlete to win Paralympic Para archery gold �� ����#Paralympics | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/0F7w8pTcyq
- Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) September 4, 2024
There was also external pressure, apart from the pressure of the competition itself. India had won only one other medal in archery across the Paris Olympics and Paralympics before Harvinder's event -- a bronze for Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar. Once again, his sport needed him to stand up. "I always thought that my shooting was better when there was pressure," he told ESPN.
However, the pinnacle at the Paralympics doesn't mean Harvinder intends to stop. He remembers the feeling that he left Paris with. He couldn't celebrate his gold on the day he won it, because he had to get back in the zone for the mixed team event the next day. It ended in a heartbreaking loss in the bronze medal playoff. "That day was sad for me," he said, as he and teammate Pooja only managed an 8 and a 9 respectively in the shootoff. He didn't think of the gold he'd won the day before, he was only thinking of the opportunity that he had let slip.
Harvinder's road to Los Angeles has already begun. He's in training at the Punjabi University in Patiala, alongside four other para-archers who, he says, picked up the sport only after watching him win those medals at the Paralympics. It's not an easy path to get to the Paralympics. First, a quota needs to be won, then national trials will decide who takes part at the Paralympics.
For now, Harvinder's focus is on two big events in the next two years -- the world championships in September 2025, and the Asian Para Games in 2026. Those will decide whether he can continue to live his Paralympic dream or not. He's hungry to win more, he's not had enough just yet of going where no Indian archer had ever gone before him.
For being that pathbreaker, for handling pressure in a way his peers couldn't quite manage, Harvinder Singh is ESPN India's male para-athlete of 2024.