World number one Rakesh Kumar’s remarkable journey in the Paralympics ended just short of a medal as he narrowly lost by one point to defending champion He Zihao of China in the bronze play-off of the men’s compound open archery event on Sunday. The 39-year-old athlete from Jammu, who has been wheelchair-bound since a spinal cord injury in 2009, held a slender one-point lead with six arrows remaining. However, Rakesh lost two crucial points in the penultimate round, allowing Tokyo Paralympics champion Zihao to gain momentum, hitting six consecutive 10s (with three arrows closer to the bulls-eye) to win 117-116.
Harvinder Singh remains India’s only Paralympic archery medalist, having won a bronze at the Tokyo Games.
In the semifinal, Rakesh struggled to bring his best against Ai Xinliang of China, losing by two points. Like in the quarterfinals, Rakesh had a slow start and trailed by three points with six arrows to go. Despite a strong finish, dropping only two points in the last two rounds, it wasn’t enough, and Xinliang secured a 145-143 victory, marking his third consecutive win over Rakesh.
Rakesh’s campaign in the Tokyo Paralympics had similarly ended in the quarterfinals, also losing to a Chinese competitor by an identical scoreline.
Earlier in the tournament, Rakesh overcame world No. 2 Ken Swagumilang of Indonesia 144-144 (10-8) to advance to the quarterfinals. Despite a slow start, Rakesh demonstrated remarkable composure, delivering three perfect 10s in the fourth round to take a narrow 116-115 lead against Canada’s Kyle Tremblay in a shoot-off. The scores were tied at 144-144, but Rakesh managed to shoot his arrow just 3mm closer to the center than his opponent.
Rakesh’s precision under pressure was evident in his match against Ken, where he held a one-point lead and needed a 9-point shot on his final arrow to secure victory in five rounds. Although he slipped into the 8-pointer red-ring, resulting in a 144-144 tie, he held his nerves in the shoot-off, shooting a perfect 10 while Ken managed an 8.
Rakesh, who won gold medals in the individual and mixed team events at the Asian Para Championships last year, also secured the mixed team gold at the World Para Championships.
After suffering a spinal cord injury in 2009 and realizing he would be wheelchair-bound for life, Rakesh faced depression and even contemplated taking drastic measures. However, his life took a positive turn after meeting his archery coach, Kuldeep Vedwan, and beginning training together at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board in Katra.
In the open class, archers shoot from a sitting position at a distance of 50 meters at an 80cm five-ring target composed of 10-6 point bands.
