Who is Sriharsha Ramakrishna? All you need to know about the Indian para-shooter competing in the Paris 2024 Paralympics

India's para rifle shooter Sriharsha Ramakrishna is among those expected to challenge for the gold medal against the world’s best athletes at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

Ramakrishna, who is 44 years old, is the senior-most member of the 84-member strong Indian contingent going to the Paris 2024 Paralympics. The event will take place between August 28 and September 8.

Despite starting his career at the wrong end of his 30s, Sriharsha Ramakrishna has risen to be one of India’s leading para-shooters in Paris. Despite being wheelchair-bound and only 25 percent use of his hands, Sriharsha has never let his disability stand in the way of his dream of representing his nation in the Paralympic Games.

Now a part of the 10-member shooting contingent at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, Sriharsha Ramakrishna will look to put a gold medal-winning end to his stellar and inspiring career as a para-shooter.

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Sriharsha Ramakrishna’s career in brief

A resident of Bengaluru’s Hubballi city, Sriharsha Ramakrishna led the life of an ordinary person, whose only sporting interest was playing badminton back in his college days. However, his life turned upside down when he met with a motorcycle accident in 2013 when his two-wheeler overturned due to poor road conditions.

As a result of the horrific accident, Sriharsha suffered a spinal cord injury that rendered him 75 percent quadriplegic (unable to use all four limbs). After his accident, the wheelchair-bound Sriharsha joined an insurance company as an area manager, and also worked as a programme associate in an NGO, running skill development classes.

However, Sriharsha’s true love was sports, and he joined a shooting academy in his native Hubballi in 2017, picking up para-shooting only seven years ago. After some financial support from his parents and wife, Sriharsha moved to Bengaluru to pursue further training, where he was advised to train in the SH2 category, which is reserved for those with the most serious spinal cord injuries or amputees.

Sriharsha Ramakrishna enjoyed success soon after, competing in the National Para-shooting Championship in 2017-18. He then went on to win two silver medals in the same event next year, establishing himself as a legitimate para-shooting talent.

He then took part in the 2019 International Wheelchair Amputee Sports (IWAS) World Games in Sharjah, winning two silver medals again. He also took part in the 2019 WSPS World Cup in Osijek, as well as the 2019 WSPS World Championships in Sydney.

Sriharsha Ramakrishna’s crowning moment came in the 2022 WSPS World Cup in Chateauroux, where he won a gold medal in the R4-mixed 10m rifle standing SH2 event at the age of 41, registering a total score of 253.1. The victory also secured his berth at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

Now in France, Sriharsha Ramakrishna will look to give his all in his Paralympic debut and make it a tournament to remember for his nation by clinching a gold medal.