HARVINDER Singh became the first Indian archer to strike gold at the Paralympics before club thrower Dharambir also secured a top finish with a record-shattering throw as the country’s athletes continued to surpass expectations on yet another rewarding day at the quadrennial showpiece here. Their performance took India’s medal haul to 24 and the nation is currently placed 13th in the overall standings with five gold, nine silver and 10 bronze medals. It is India’s best ever performance at the event and will only get better with three more days of competition left. The 33-year-old Harvinder, who became the first Indian to win an archery medal at the Games with a bronze three years ago in Tokyo, bettered the colour of his medal in a superlative performance of five consecutive wins.

 

He defeated Poland’s Lukasz Ciszek 6-0 in a onesided final to script history for himself and the country. The Haryana-archer has impairmentinhislegsowing to a dengue treatment that adverselyaffectedhimwhen he was just a toddler. Icing on the cake was Dharambir’s Asian record 34.92m throw that helped him stay on top from start tofinish,followedbySoorma (34.59m) in the F51 club throw final. The F51 club throw event is for athletes who have movementaffectedtoahigh degree inthe trunk, legs and hands.Allparticipantscompetewhileseatedandrelyon their shoulders and arms to generate power.