Indian archers bag four berths for Tokyo Paralympics

Indian archers secured two quota places each in the recurve and compound sections for next year’s Tokyo Paralympics after dishing out superb performances at the World Para Championships.

World Archery allows an athlete to invite an attendant, as well as a coach.

Indian archers secured two quota places each in the recurve and compound sections for next year’s Tokyo Paralympics after dishing out superb performances at the World Para Championships here Friday.

Harvinder Singh and Vivek Chhikara finished joint ninth to bag the two available berths in the recurve men’s open section. In the compound men’s open category, Jammu’s Rakesh Kumar was first to qualify on Thursday after making the bronze play-off where he will take on Matt Stutzman of the USA on Saturday.

He was later joined by Rajasthan’s Shyam Sundar Swami after his joint ninth finish.

Sixteen places were available for recurve men, while 20 berths were up for grabs in the compound men section. So a top-16 finish ensured an automatic qualification.

Rakesh, 34, suffered a spinal injury in a car crash in 2007 and has limited mobility since then.

He was picked by coach Kuldeep and together the journey started at the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Sports Complex at Katra which was set up 18 months back by archery observer Sanjeeva Singh with the help of Ajit Sahu, IAS CEO Shrine Board.

Rakesh is always accompanied by his 26-year-old brother Ayja and coach Kuldeep as the team is eyeing nothing less than a Paralympic gold in Tokyo 2020.

“Our main aim is to achieve gold at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. We’re interested only in gold,” coach Kuldeep said.

World Archery allows an athlete to invite an attendant, as well as a coach.

“A coach’s tasks are different and an attendant’s work is different. He takes care of a person in a room, washes his clothes, does everything. Para archers can’t always do those things themselves and Rakesh decided to call his brother,” Kuldeep said.

Rakesh, who hit a competition best score of 689 points during the ranking round, is indebted to his younger brother -- his constant companion as he moves on his wheelchair.

“From the day I had an accident, my brother has always supported me. And from the day I started archery, he’s been with me on the ground,” Rakesh said giving full credit to his brother.

Rakesh was part of a team that won the second leg of the European para archery circuit in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.

He was a team bronze medallist at the Fazza para world ranking event earlier this year in Dubai, too.