Rakesh Kumar Misses Paralympics Bronze by a Point in Archery Event

World number one Rakesh Kumar's impressive journey in the Paralympics concluded without a medal. He narrowly lost to defending champion He Zihao of China by one point in the bronze play-off of the men's compound open archery event on Sunday. The 39-year-old, who uses a wheelchair due to a spinal cord injury in 2009, had a slim lead with six arrows remaining.

Rakesh's campaign had previously ended in the Tokyo Paralympics quarterfinals, losing to a Chinese archer by the same scoreline. In the semifinal, Rakesh couldn't bring his best against Ai Xinliang of China, losing by two points. Despite trailing by three points with six arrows left, he fought hard but dropped two points in the last two ends, resulting in a 145-143 defeat.

Rakesh's Journey and Challenges

Earlier, Rakesh overcame world No. 2 Ken Swagumilang of Indonesia 144-144 10-8 to reach the quarterfinals. He displayed remarkable composure to outshoot Canada's Kyle Tremblay in a thrilling shoot-off with scores tied at 144-144. Rakesh started slowly, trailing by two points after nine arrows but delivered three perfect 10s in the fourth end to take a narrow 116-115 lead.

The drama intensified when Rakesh lost by one point in the fourth end, with the Canadian shooting two 10s and his final arrow landing closer to the center. The scores were tied again at 144-144, leading to another shoot-off. Unlike the Indonesian archer in the quarterfinals, the Canadian found the 10-ring, increasing tension. Unfazed, Rakesh took a deep breath and landed his arrow just 3mm closer to the center.

Previous Achievements and Setbacks

Rakesh had won gold medals in individual and mixed team events at last year's Asian Para Championships. He also secured a mixed team gold medal at the World Para Championships. His journey began after meeting his archery coach Kuldeep Vedwan at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board in Katra.

In comparison, Ken’s arrow was 29.55mm from the bullseye, underscoring Rakesh's precision under pressure. Earlier, in a battle between top-ranked archers, Rakesh overcame a blip to defeat Ken. He held his slender one-point lead and needed nine points on his final arrow to seal victory but slipped to an eight-pointer red-ring as both archers were locked at 144-144 in regulation five ends.

Overcoming Adversity

Rakesh suffered a spinal cord injury and realised he would be wheelchair-bound for life after recovering in 2009. This plunged him into depression, and he even considered taking extreme steps. However, his life took a new turn after meeting his coach Kuldeep Vedwan.

In the ensuing shoot-off against Ken, Rakesh held his nerves to shoot a perfect 10 while Ken managed an eight. Rakesh started on the back foot with Ken pulling off a perfect first end shooting 30 out of 30 while Rakesh dropped a point. He bounced back with three 10s while Ken managed only 28, giving Rakesh a one-point lead.

The third and fourth ends saw both archers dropping a point each as Rakesh maintained his slender lead before slipping up on his final arrow of the designated five ends. In the open class, archers shoot from a sitting position at a distance of 50m at an 80cm five-ring target made up of 10-6 point bands.

Despite not securing a medal this time, Rakesh's journey remains inspiring for many aspiring athletes facing similar challenges.