'Meditation' helped para-shooter Singhraj Adhana revive to win bronze at 2021 Paralympics

Indian shooter Singhraj Adhana clinched a bronze medal in the men's 10m Air Pistol SH1 event finals at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games on Tuesday. Singhraj bagged a bronze medal with a score of 216.8.

Earlier, Singhraj Adhana managed a 569 -18x points to finish 6th while his compatriot Manish Narwal finished on top during the qualification round. The 39-year-old made a remarkable comeback to finish on the 3rd place in the 10m Air Pistol SH1 finals.

The secret behind Singhraj's rebound is 'meditation'. Five minutes of meditation before the match helped him keep his focus intact and win a medal. Singhraj, after his bronze medal victory, told the media:

My coaches suggested doing meditation to overcome the mistakes which I did in the qualification. I did meditation for 5 minutes & it helped... This result is because of a better team that is with me.

My coaches suggested doing meditation to overcome the mistakes which I did in the qualification. I did meditation for 5 minutes & it helped... This result is because of a better team that is with me: #Paralympics bronze medalist shooter Singhraj Adana pic.twitter.com/FwHE4SIXFd

— ANI (@ANI) August 31, 2021

Singhraj's finals scores:

Singhraj started off extremely well and was placed him in the top 3 after his fourth attempt. He continued in the top position with consistent shots. Singhraj scored 9.4, 9.7, 10.4 during his 13th, 14th,15th shot.

The competition was between Lou Xiaolong of China and Singhraj Adhana towards the end. Both shooters were competing for the bronze medal. A score of 8.7 during his 16th shot pushed Singhraj out of medal contention. He was placed fourth behind the Chinese shooters.

A bad series from Lou Xiaolong placed Singhraj back in the top three. After his 19th shot, the 39-year-old was out of medal contention again. It was Singhraj's 20th shot that helped him win a medal.

After scoring a 20 in the penultimate elimination round, Singhraj missed out on second spot by 0.7 points and won a bronze medal for India.

Second medal for 🇮🇳 in Shooting event! Congratulations @AdhanaSinghraj for winning 🥉in P1 - Men's 10m Air Pistol SH1 event @Tokyo2020 #Paralympics. You have made all of us proud with your grit,focus and determination. #Praise4Para pic.twitter.com/dHmjhXbaDc

— Deepa Malik (@DeepaAthlete) August 31, 2021

Singhraj's life and introduction to sports:

Singhraj is polio afflicted and suffers from limb impairment. His physical disability did not impede his capability to do bigger things in life. He hails from Haryana’s Bahadurgarh city. Singhraj served as the chairman of the Sainik School in Faridabad. His grandfather was part of the country’s freedom movement and served in the British Indian Army during the second world war.

Nationals coach Subhash Rana was the one who spotted Singhraj. His dedication and skills left a very positive impact on coach Subhash. He soon started training with coach Subhash Rana.

The shooter from Haryana’s Bahadurgarh took to the sport only four years ago at the age of 35. Coming from a financially unstable background, the start was quite challenging for Singhraj initially.

Shooting is an expensive sport. It's hard for most to cope with reparations. It came to a situation where his wife sold her jewellery to support him throughout the shooting journey. He used to travel the 40km to the shooting range every single day for practice.

His endurance paid off really well as he won a bronze medal for India in the men's 10m Air Pistol SH1 event at the 2021 Paralympics.