India earned another medal from the 2020 Paralympics on Tuesday as shooter Singhraj Adhana bagged a bronze from the 10m Air Pistol SH1 event. At the age of 39, Singhraj became the 8th Indian to have won a medal from the Tokyo Paralympic Games but his journey as a shooter wasn’t among the most conventional.

Shooting remains an expensive sport that not many can afford. Even Singhraj had to make huge sacrifices to make his way into the sport. 

Adhana first took up the sport at the age of 35. Coming from a financially weak background, the start was quite troublesome for Adhana. He had to take a 40km journey between his home and the shooting rage every single day for practice.

It didn’t take long for him to impress national coach Subhash Rana. Singhraj’s dedication and talent left a big impression on Rana and the latter took the onus upon himself to train him.

Adhana’s family endured several financial hardships to help him train. Adhana’s wife even had to sell her jewellery to create funds for his training. Even during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Adhana spoke of these hardships.

“Shooting is an expensive sport, and it was not easy pursuing it,” Singhraj had told PM Modi. “My wife sold her jewellery to support my shooting dream.”

Singhraj first bagged a medal at the national level in 2018 as he bagged a bronze at the Para Asian Games. His first international accolade came at the Chateauroux World Cup held in France where he won a silver medal in the individual event. In the same event, he also won a gold medal at the team event.

At the 62nd National Shooting Championships held in Kerala in 2019, he won Gold, Sliver and Bronze medals in different categories.

Singhraj has also participated in various social causes like education of the poor and the underprivileged as well as the rights of the disabled. Having his lower limbs impaired due to polio since childhood, Singhraj has done a brilliant job in the upliftment of others.