Manish Narwal’s silver is for his brother Manjeet who died in a road accident two years ago, says his father

In 2022, shooter Manish Narwal lost his elder brother Manjeet Singh in a road accident. Manish was practicing at the shooting range when Manjeet’s car and a water tanker collided. The two brothers were close and Manish mourned for days.

“From November 1, 2022, to today, Manish has remembered his brother every single day for these 668 days. It took Manish six months to pick up the gun again. Manish’s Paralympics medal is for Manjeet. Manjeet would be cheering from the heavens,” said father Dilbagh Singh while speaking to The Indian Express after his son won a silver medal in the men’s 10m air pistol (SH-1) final at the Chateauroux Shooting Range.

Manish is from a family of shooters. Younger brother Shiva is a Hangzhou Asian Games mixed team gold medallist, while sister Shikha has also followed in their footsteps.

Manish grew up in Ballabgarh in Faridabad. A medical-treatment error by doctors at the time of his birth resulted in nerve damage of right shoulder and it hampered movement of his right arm.

But Manish’s father, who runs a fabrication factory, persuaded him to take up shooting eventually.

“Minutes after his birth, a mistake by doctors resulted in the nerve damage. He was very young to understand what happened to him. But he was a very happy child. He would play with other children and also observe closely whatever sports they played. We never discussed that he is a person with a disability and that’s the attitude he has grown up with,” Dilbaug said.

Paris 2024 Paralympics – Shooting – Men’s 10M Air Pistol SH1 Qualification – Chateauroux Shooting Centre, Deols, France – August 30, 2024 Manish Narwal of India looks on during the qualification round REUTERS/Eng Chin An

In 2015, Manish started shooting at the 10X academy in Ballabgarh where coach Rakesh Singh took him under his wings.

He started shooting with a right-hand grip pistol using his left hand. He would also compete in para nationals the same year he started shooting.

“When he came to train under me in 2015, we did not have a left-hand grip pistol. So for more than a year, he would shoot with his left hand using the right-hand grip pistol. It was tough but then he adjusted to that and would shoot good scores,” Narwal’s former coach Rakesh Singh said.

Within three years of taking up shooting, the Haryana youngster became the 10m air pistol (SH-1) gold medal winner at the Jakarta Para Asian Games apart from a silver medal in 50m Pistol (SH-1) event. Prior to winning the gold in Tokyo Paralympics, the Haryana shooter also became the 10m air pistol champion in 2018 Para Shooting World Cup in France, apart from a bronze medal in 50m Pistol event.

He would add three more World Cup medals in 2019, including a silver medal in Para World Cup in Croatia and bronze each in 10m air pistol and 50m pistol in Para World Cup in Sydney.

“The key for him was finding the right balance and posture. Once he won medals and got his own pistol, dry/shadow shooting helped us to find the balance for his body. He developed his upper-body strength. It helped him maintain a right posture for hours with dry shooting. This also helped him develop accuracy with almost perfect balanced posture of the left hand. In 2018, he also made it to the NRAI national squad in normal category and it helped him gain confidence too,” Dilbagh said.

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Post Tokyo Paralympics, Narwal has won four World Cup medals apart from winning the 10m air pistol (SH-1) title in the World Para Shooting Championships in Peru in September last year. He also won the bronze in 10m air pistol (SH-1) in last year’s Para Asian Games in Hangzhou.

“He would be at the range soon after his return from Paris and would want to start the training for the 50m pistol event as soon as he can. This medal will also give him confidence to aim for multiple medals at the next Paralympics too,” Dilbagh said.

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