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Paris Paralympics 2024 gold medallist Harvinder Singh has expressed his feelings after being selected for the Padma Shri award.
On the eve of the Republic Day, India's para-archer Harvinder Singh stood among those who will receive the Padma Awards in 2025. The Padma awards, among the country's highest civilian honours, are conferred under three categories - Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. The awards are given in various disciplines, such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, and literature among others. "I am happy. This is a proud moment for me that I have been awarded the Padma Shri. I want to give the credit for this to my coaches. I will keep going like this. I would like to tell the youth to set a goal for themselves and work on that," Harvinder Singh said while speaking to ANI. The Padma Shri award is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India after the Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, and the Padma Bhushan. Harvinder tasted success in the past year with his consistent performances. He got his hands on India's first-ever gold medal in para-archery at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. It was a one-sided affair in the men's individual recurve open event. Harvinder had ousted Poland's Lukasz Ciszek with a straight-set win, 6-0, in the gold medal match. His triumph in Paris marked a medal in two successive Paralympics, having won a bronze medal in the recurve para-archery at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020. His triumph in Tokyo was India's first medal in archery in the Paralympics. Harvinder had the opportunity to add another medal to his tally but landed short in the decisive clash. Harvinder and Pooja fell short in the bronze medal tie against Slovenia's Ziva Lavrinc and Dejan Fabcic in the mixed team recurve open at the Paris Paralympics. Despite starting brightly, they eventually succumbed to a 4-6 defeat in the bronze medal match. Following his historic success, Harvinder along with Preeti Pal were named the flag bearers for India at the closing ceremony of the Paris Paralympics 2024. Recently, during the National Para Archery Championship, which was held in Jaipur, Harvinder won four gold medals. Harvinder, who hails from Kaithal, Haryana, faced hardship when he was just over a year old. He had contracted dengue and required injections for treatment. The side effects of those injections led to the loss of function in his legs. (ANI)
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