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Indian Express
4 days ago
- Health
- Indian Express
Sumedha Pathak beats out ‘inspiration' Rubina Francis for Para World Cup shooting gold
Moments after 28-year-old Sumedha Pathak won her first WSPS World Cup individual gold in the women's P2 10m air pistol SH1 final in Changwon, Korea, she was hugged by Paris Paralympics bronze medallist and compatriot Rubina Francis, who finished seventh in the same category. For Sumedha, who edged out another Indian, Shrishti Arora, to win the gold with a score of 235.2, and many of her peers, Francis is an inspiration. 'Rubina mam has always been an inspiration for me and other shooters and whenever we compete at the shooting range, we see each other as inspiration as well motivating,' Sumedha told The Indian Express from Changwon, Korea. Daughter of pharmaceutical entrepreneur Brijesh Chandra Pathak, a young Sumedha would always be keen in her studies as well as listening about her father's social work in their hometown of Varanasi. In 2013, after complaining of fever and body pains, she was diagnosed with Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis resulting in spinal paralysis. The Pathak family would then spend months in hospitals in Delhi as well Kolkata before the youngster recovered, with her body movement below her chest being completely nil. 'After spending more than a year in recovery at different hospitals, when we returned home, the first thing I told Sumedha was to have belief that we will excel in whatever way we can. We live in a joint family and the entire family ensured that Sumedha always remained focussed on her goals whether it be studies or whatever field she chose,' says father Brijesh Chandra Pathak. Sumedha would top the CBSE 12th exam in commerce stream in specially abled division in India with 91.04 percent in 2016. It was in 2018 that her father, along with consultation with international shooters Asif and Ajit Singh Suryavanshi and coach Santosh Tiwari, got a makeshift shooting range built at their home. While Sumedha would start with pistol shooting, the coaches would face the problem of setting the right posture for the youngster. 'Sumedha's body movement is very restricted and hence we could not make her start in rifle shooting. Initially, when she started pistol shooting, her upper body would fall ahead. So we would start with the dry shooting part, working to increase her upper body and shoulder strength. Once we could achieve the right posture and balance on a wheelchair, we increased shots to 40-60 shots daily and she would train for 2-3 hours,' remembers coach Santosh Tiwari. Father Brijesh too talks about the initial struggles. 'While we had built the shooting range at the parking space of our home, Sumedha used to spend a lot of time for physiotherapy sessions too. During 2020-2021, early Covid-19 times, we got a new range built inside our home. We are lucky that the whole shooting community of Varanasi and UP would support her. (When the new) shooting range (came up) in Varanasi in 2024, it meant that the likes of Sumedha could dream of training at a world class facility one day in Varanasi,' says Pathak. In 2022, Sumedha made the Indian Para shooting team and was part of the Indian pistol team which won the silver medal in the WSPS World Cup in France and Korea respectively. In 2023, Sumedha finished seventh in women's P2 10m air pistol SH1 in the Hangzhou Asian Para Games. 'In shooters like Sumedha, the main challenge for coaches is to strike a balance between the upper body strength suited for their shooting style. While the technique can be tweaked based on the posture, the upper body strength has to be the strongest and she has been able to work on that,' says national para pistol coach Subash Rana. In Khelo India Para Games in March this year, Sumedha had scored a score of 237.5 to win the gold. On Monday, she qualified at the second spot with a score of 565 behind Francis, who shot 566. In the final, Sumedha was placed third after the second series before she made her way to the gold medal elimination round followed by her winning the gold with a score of 235.2. 'The Khelo India gold made Sumedha believe that she can win big in finals too and to edge out Rubina then also helped her confidence. While she has won team medals before, this Individual gold is a new beginning for her,' says Jaiprakash Nautiyal, chief coach Indian Para Shooting team. Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story 'Harmans of Moga', Nitin has also been a two-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022 and 2023 respectively. Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women's cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships. An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin's interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read More
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Calm in adversity: Rudransh Khandelwal wins Para gold the same way he dealt with losing left foot
On Monday morning, when 17-year-old Rudransh Khandelwal won the title in the men's P1 10m air pistol SH 1, edging out two-time Paralympics medallist Manish Narwal, in the WSPS World Cup in Changwon, South Korea, the first thing the Rajasthan shooter did was call his mother, Vinita. Ten years ago, Rudransh had lost his left foot in a cracker explosion during a wedding in Bharatpur and as the youngster won the gold on Monday, he reiterated to his mother the simple ways in which his kin has supported him. 'Right from the day of the incident, my family and friends have treated me the same way which they used to do prior to the accident. That's the biggest strength one can have,' Rudransh tells The Indian Express from South Korea. It was in January 2015 that the then seven-year-old Rudransh suffered shrapnel injuries due to the cracker explosion and the following days would see the family spending time going to various hospitals in Jaipur and Delhi for the treatment. 'While we would spend the next days anxiously visiting different hospitals, he would keep his cool. Post the operation, he would spend time watching cartoons at the hospital during his recovery time and would also tell us to be joyful,' recalls mother Vinita, who is a Civics lecturer in Bharatpur. Post his recovery, the Khandelwals would spend months finding the right prosthetic. The search would end at P&O International, a special prosthetic company in New Delhi. 'My husband and I did not want Rudransh to use a support. We wanted him to believe that he is at par with anybody,' Vinita says. Within a year of getting the prosthetic, Khandelwal would start shooting at the SBN Shooting Academy under coach Sumit Rathi. 'Kids between the ages of 8-10 would come and train dry shooting with us. In the case of Rudransh, I had to sit and hold the pistol and make him shoot. For the first six months, we did that just to make him understand the precision aspect of shooting. And slowly, I started shooting him in a standing position. Once we were able to find the perfect balancing position, which also required a lot of physical work, we worked on his grip,' the coach recalls. Khandelwal too remembers the early stages of his career. The Delhi University student remembers one incident which helped him understand one of the early lessons of life. 'During one of the state competitions, my prosthetic leg broke. I along with coach sir had to do jugaad with screws and other stuff to repair it and it was a lesson for me that I have to stand on my own come what may. Sometimes, the nerves in my thigh would swell due to continuous standing as we increased shooting shots from 30 shots to 100 shots but then I knew I had to suffer if I had to pursue my passion, which is shooting,' Rudransh says. The youngster would first break into the national para shooting team in 2022 and won his first world cup medal in WSPS World Cup in Osijek, Croatia in 2023 with a gold in P4 Mixed 50m Pistol SH 1 Category, where he also created the new world record score of 231.1. He followed up with another gold in the same World Cup with the title in the P1 Men's 10m air pistol SH 1 Event with a new junior world record. He won two silver medals in World Championships in Lima the same year apart from winning two silver medals in 2023 Asian Para Games. 'Rudransh's strength has been competing in both 50m and 10m events and the way he has managed to find a posture suited to his shooting style in both the events,' says national para pistol coach Subhash Rana. While the youngster had missed the final of the men's 10m air pistol SH 1 by just one spot in Paris Paralympics, the Indian shooter finished seventh in qualification with a score of 564. In the final, Khandewal was placed sixth after the second series. The elimination rounds saw Khandewal climbing from sixth spot to the gold medal position, edging out compatriot Narwal, by 0.3 points for the gold. 'Rudransh maintained his calm while being close to the elimination zone once in the final and the comeback would add to his confidence a lot,' says Jaiprakash Nautiyal, chief coach Indian Para Shooting team. Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story 'Harmans of Moga', Nitin has also been a two-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022 and 2023 respectively. Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women's cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships. An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin's interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read More
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Mona Agarwal defies a strong field to win silver at the Para Shooting World Cup
On Saturday morning, as 37-year-old Paris Paralympics bronze medallist Mona Agarwal won the silver medal in the women's R2 10m air rifle standing SH1 final at the WSPS World Cup in Changwon, Korea, the Rajasthan shooter was congratulated by Tokyo and Paris Paralympics champion and compatriot Avani Lekhara. While Lekhara missed the medal by a solitary 0.1 point, finishing fourth in the eight-shooter final, it was Agarwal's fourth medal in a WSPS World Cup and first international medal since the Paris Paralympics. 'Avani has been the torch bearer of World Para shooting, and she has shown that with the two Paralympic titles. It's just that it was not her day today as she narrowly missed the medal. I have always believed that our competition is against ourselves in the shooting range. I had been trying consistently here in the final to win the medal for India,' shared Agarwal while speaking with The Indian Express from Changwon, South Korea. Hailing from Sikar, Rajasthan, Agarwal was affected by polio at a young age of nine months. With her father running a hardware shop in Sikar, Agarwal would initially dabble in athletics, competing in events like discus throw, shot put, and javelin throw at state para games. Later, post her marriage in 2017, she opted for weight-lifting on the suggestion of her husband Ravindra Chaudhary, a former wheelchair basketball player. It was only in 2021 that Agarwal started shooting under coach Yogesh Shekhawat at the Eklavya Shooting Academy in Jaipur and competed in her first WSPS World Cup in Croatia in 2023. While Lekhara missed major competitions in 2023 and early 2024 due to her gallbladder surgery, Agarwal would cement her place in the Indian para rifle shooting team. Agarwal won her first WSPS World Cup medal in the form of gold medal in the WSPS World Cup in Delhi, in March last year, where she also won the Paris Paralympics quota for India before she paired up with Aadithya Giri to claim the mixed team air rifle standing (SH1) event silver medal in the same World Cup. One month later, Agarwal would again win a WSPS World Cup gold with the women's R2 10m air rifle Standing SH1 final title in the WSPS World Cup in Changwon. In the Paris Paralympics, Agarwal claimed the bronze medal. The long stretch of competitions from March last year meant that Agarwal faced problems with her posture and some nerve injuries. 'Being in competition mode for more than six months starting March last year at the Paris Paralympics also meant that my body was overtired, and I would struggle with my posture. A lot of the time, my body will get stiff, and some nerves in my body will also be compressed due to prolonged hours of training. Post Paris, my main challenge was to balance training and my physical struggles,' says Agarwal. On Saturday, Agarwal qualified for the eight-shooter final in second spot with a score of 620.6 behind Korea's Yoojeong Lee's score of 621.9, with another Korean and Paris silver medallist, Yunri Lee, in the third spot with a score of 620.0. Korean Miyoung Kim (619.9 points) would qualify at the fourth spot, followed by Lekhara (617.5), apart from Emilia Babska of Poland, compatriot Swaroop Unhalkar and Makhmudakhon Sobirova of Kazakhstan. 'With three Korean shooters competing at their home range, finishing second in qualification gave Mona the right kind of mental preparation before the final. Whenever she has competed in the final of the World Cup, she has always won a medal. Today's medal is special given her struggles post Paris,' said Jaiprakash Nautiyal, chief coach Indian Para Shooting team. In the final, Agarwal was placed at the fourth spot after the second series with Yunri Lee, Lekhara and Yoojeong Lee ahead of Agarwal. She composed herself in the elimination series and went all the way to the gold deciding round before Yunri Lee won the gold. 'Though I started well, remaining in the top four after the end of the second series, I had my ups and downs in the elimination series. But I am glad my technique and shooting process clicked for me at crucial shots, and I could win the silver medal among the packed field consisting of three Koreans and Avani,' shared Agarwal. The mother of two also had to meet the demands of her two children, six-year-old daughter Aarvi and four-year-old son Avik. 'My children are my biggest strength. Neither of my children has called me for the last 3-4 days, knowing that I am competing. When I used to call them, they would say Mumma, aap competition ki taiyari karo. The only thing they ask is to get lots of toys from the local markets, from whichever country I go,' says Agarwal. Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story 'Harmans of Moga', Nitin has also been a two-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022 and 2023 respectively. Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women's cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships. An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin's interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read More
