Tokyo Paralympics | Singh, Chikara keep Indian medal hopes alive, make last-16
The Hindu
Vivek Chikara and Harvinder Singh sailed into their respective pre-quarterfinal rounds.
Indian recurve archer duo of Vivek Chikara and Harvinder Singh kept medal hopes alive, sailing into their respective pre-quarterfinals of the men’s open section in the Paralympic Games here on September 3. Singh, World number 23, who became the first athlete from India to win a gold medal in para archery at a major competition in Asian Games Jakarta 2018, overcame a stiff challenge from Stefano Travisani of Italy to win 6-5 (10-7) via shootout. The 30-year-old, who qualified as 21st seed, squandered a 4-0 lead after shooting a 7 in the third set as the Italian slowly bounced back to make it 5-all and force a shoot-off.He has worn India’s blues, albeit in an Under-19 World Cup, with K.L. Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat as his teammates. He has proudly adorned the Lion’s Crest — the famed Mumbai cricket logo — in all three formats. He has played with Yuvraj Singh, against Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid and has the likes of Rahul and Joe Root in his illustrious list of dismissals. He is also a software developer for an IT giant, based in California. Virtually every middle-class Indian over the last three decades at some stage dreams of being either a cricketer or an IT professional. Saurabh Netravalkar has been combining two dreams, even after relocating to USA to pursue academics at the prestigious Cornell University in 2015.
Unlike most of the Olympic-bound athletes, who opt to train abroad before the big event, boxer Amit Panghal prefers training in home conditions prior to Paris 2024. A former World championships silver medallist and a World No. 1, Panghal won the 51kg quota place in the only chance he got. He wants to follow his own plans to script success in Paris.