01 September,2021 07:00 AM IST | Tokyo | PTI
Singhraj Adana. Pic/PTI
COVID-19 came in the way of him going to the range before the Tokyo Paralympics. So, Indian shooter Singhraj Adana simply built the range at home after drawing its layout in just one night.
At the Asaka Shooting Range here on Tuesday, the monumental effort paid off as Adana, 39, only four years after taking to the sport, won the Paralympics bronze medal in the P1 men's 10m air pistol SH1 event.
However, for someone who could only watch helplessly as his wife once sold her jewelery to support his shooting dream, he knew the move was a huge gamble and so did his mother.
But during the lockdown, the polio-afflicted shooter's desperation to resume training had reached a point where he was not able to even get a good night's sleep.
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"As I was not able to train, I started thinking that my dream of winning a medal is over. That's when my coaches suggested why not try building a range at home," Adana said in a media interaction organised by broadcaster Eurosport and the Paralympic Committee of India.
"I was getting desperate and was not able to sleep at all due to absence of training. So, I approached my family with the idea and they were taken aback at first as it involved lakhs of rupees.
"My mother only asked me to ensure that we are able to feed ourselves later on if something went wrong. But thanks to my family and coaches' support, the green signal and help from the Paralympic Committee of India and NRAI, we succeeded in my mission and the range was soon up and running," he added.
Meanwhile, fancied Rubina Francis finished seventh in the women's 10m air pistol SH1 final. Rubina was on 128.1 points when she was eliminated.
Also Read: Paralympian Mariyappan Thangavelu: I could've won gold
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