Arjuna Awardee : Manish Narwal
Rise of a Star
Dilbagh Narwal, Manish’s father, had a great influence on his son. He is the reason why Manish flourished as a pistol shooter. His father always made relentless efforts to channelize his son’s talent and always told his son one thing “A man’s thinking makes him paralyzed, not his physical deformity”.
Manish realized the importance of the statement as he grew older, and he utilized it as motivation to improve in a career he picked after much deliberation and struggle. Manish was born with a disability in his right hand, however, his condition made him a quiet student in school. His father saw the situation from which his son was going through, and thought about what sport should be introduced to his son. Wrestling was his first choice but there was a high risk of injury for Manish in that so he opted for Football instead.
The quest for another sport began shortly after the realization that prospects were bleak and that much depended on the team’s success. Deliberations about the ideal sport lasted a while, but the majority of individuals consulted said that Manish was not made out for any sport.
The Turning Point
It was at this point that “Lala bhaiya,” as Manish refers to the family acquaintance, came in to save the day. As a shooter, the advice was to get Manish started with pistol shooting with a left-hand grip. Dilbagh was promised that Manish could compete in individual sports without danger of injury. Thus began a journey in January 2016 that has seen Manish cross one milestone after another, with the largest of them may be awaiting him at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo this year.
The Lows
For a long time, the family was determined that the boy lead a normal life, and various specialists were consulted about surgery as a possible solution. Because the possibilities of his illness worsening were high, the family decided to abandon the idea. But, just before Manish began to learn to shoot, the desire to get the right-hand right reappeared.
Another round of hospital appointments began, but they yielded no results. The advice remained the same: the risk was too great. This is when Dilbagh advised his son to stay strong in spirit rather than succumb to weakness. After Manish picked up the gun for the first time at a range in Ballabhgarh, the results began to stream in quickly.
The Bright Side
Given the little time available, the list is mind-boggling. In his favorite events, 10m and 50m air pistol, Manish has broken the world record nine times and the Para Asian record once. He earned gold and silver at the 2018 Jakarta Para Asian Games, as well as three bronze medals in the World Championships in Sydney last year. Add to that 19 medals from national competitions.
Manish has a motto of his own, “Whatever one does, it should be in full earnestness.” He gets up at 6 a.m. for an hour-plus of physical training, followed by a four-hour practice session at the range. After that, he travels to Ballabhgarh to practice with his younger brother Shiva and other buddies. The day comes to an end with another round of physical exercise. Among other workouts, after four hours of standing motionless with the handgun in hand, care is made to relax the arm muscles.
Manish, 18, at the time of receiving the award, is the only second para shooter after Naresh Kumar won it in the year 1997. This award truly added to the motivation of this exceptional player, who created a stir with his sharp skills, winning 19 National and 17 International medals in the last three years.
Recently he shattered the world record en route clinching the gold in the P4 mixed 50m pistol SH1 event on the penultimate day of the 2021 Para Shooting World Cup.