Had no fear, says Kaithal archer Harvinder Singh

Vinayak Padmadeo

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 3

Archer Harvinder Singh says he was not intimidated by the prospect of fighting against South Korea’s Kim MS for the bronze. Rather Harvinder, who hails from Ajitnagar village in Kaithal district in Haryana, and his coach Kuldeep Singh watched Kim’s semifinal loss against China’s Zhao L to see which of the two would he will face in the bronze medal match.

The plan was simple: Keep the lead from the start to put the Korean under pressure. The plan worked till about the fourth set with Harvinder leading 5-3. But one bad arrow ndash; his second arrow, with a score of eight ndash; gave Kim a chance to win the set and force a shoot-off, which Harvinder won with a perfect 10.

“We saw his semifinal match. And our strategy was to stay in the lead as we thought he buckled under the score pressure,” Harvinder told The Tribune.

“One bad arrow gave him an opening to tie but that’s OK, I won in a shoot-off,” the 28-year-old, who is pursuing a PhD in labour reforms at Punjabi University, Patiala, added.

What helped Harvinder was his habit of training for shoot-offs. At the 2018 Para Asian Games in Jakarta too, he won a few matches in shoot-offs. He had the added advantage in Tokyo with two shoot-off encounters before the bronze medal playoff.

“I keep telling my fellow archers that as one comes closer to the medal matches, the chances of getting into shoot-offs get higher. That training helped me today as I won as I had the confidence of winning with a decisive arrow,” Harvinder explained.

Started in 2012

Harvinder, who got enrolled at the Punjabi University in 2010, got hooked to the sport after the London Olympics. He saw many of the current stars, including Deepika Kumari, on TV. His university had the facilities, and he decided to give archery a try.

“When I joined the university many of us used to hang out around the archery venue as leisure, watching fellow students train. When the London Olympics happened I got really interested in the sport and I gave it a try,” Harvinder said. “I first trained under Jiwanjot Singh sir. Results started to come and I got hooked.”

The archer clarified that the open category in para archery was as difficult competition-wise as it for able-bodied archers. Since it is an open category, all athletes — whether on their feet or wheelchair-bound (W2) — can take part in it.

“I know many are sceptical because we have several classifications in para sport. Believe me, it is the hardest of the para sports. Getting a medal in the open category is not easy. That’s why I am so happy to win our first medal here,” he said.