Rakesh Kumar: Saved by archery and driven by a Paralympics bronze

One of the first images to emerge from the archery range at the ongoing Paralympics was that of an Indian archer braving the Parisian drizzle and shooting the bulls’ eye with unflinching resolve.

The rain wasn’t going to dampen the spirits of Rakesh Kumar, for a medal was all that mattered.

And late on Sunday night, when the teenage sensation Sheetal Devi scored a 10 to complement his effort in the final end, the 39-year old from Katra in Jammu and Kashmir finally had the elusive Paralympics bronze medal as a symbol of gratitude for a sport that quite literally saved his life.

A life turned turtle

In 2010, the then 25-year-old Rakesh met with an accident that would go on to alter the course of his life. With both his legs paralyzed, he was confined to a wheelchair.

Having to rely on a carpenter father and homemaker mother played on young Kumar’s mind and he spiraled into a phrase of depression. Thoughts of suicide plagued his mind. To make ends meet, he opened a mobile charging shop at Katra.

But a purpose in life seemed elusive.

In 2017, a chance meeting with coach Kuldeep Kumar during an archery awareness drive at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Sports Complex would hand him a new lease of life.

Rakesh liked what he saw and enrolled immediately.

Training under the tutelage of Kuldeep Kumar, Rakesh honed his skills and grew rapidly as an archer. And when he began winning medals at the national level, his coach knew that Rakesh was ready for international competition.

At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Rakesh finished sixth. Unimpressive, one would imagine but the rookie archer was only finding his feet.

Over the next three years, he would make rapid strides.

2023 would turn out to be his breakthrough year.

Rakesh won a Gold Medal in the Mixed team event and Silver Medals in both the individual and Men team events at the Asian Para Games. That year, at the World Archery Para Championships, Rakesh would win gold with the Mixed team. And finally, at the Asian Para Archery Championships, he would bag gold in both the individual and mixed team events to cap a superlative year.

All of these successes set Rakesh up perfectly for the 2024 Paralympics. But much like the challenges of his life, there were surprises aplenty that awaited him.

No smooth sailing

Rakesh began well and shot a season’s best of 696 to rank 5th in the men’s individual compound ranking round. And in the round of sixteen, he sailed past Aliou Drame of Senegal.

In the pre-quarterfinal, pitted against world no.2, Ken Swagumilang of Indonesia, Rakesh was on song but a slip-up open the door for the Indonesian to level the scores. A shoot-off was called for and Rakesh struck a 10 to progress.

More drama awaited him in the quarterfinals when another shoot-off was required for him to nudge out Kyle Tremblay of Canada. Once in the semi-finals and a win needed to be assured of a medal, he met the formidable Ai Xianliang, the top-ranked Chinese archer who eventually nudged Rakesh out with a slender two-point margin.

Bronze could still have been won but another Chinese, Zihao He, beat Rakesh by a mere point.

Heartbroken, Rakesh now turned his attention to Mixed Team Compound event. With the prodigious Sheetal Devi in tow, the 39-year old was at it again.

Things were looking good as the Indian duo got past Indonesia and looked on course in the semifinals against Iran when a sudden turn of events led to a shootout and an untimely elimination.

A sense of déjà vu prevailed for Rakesh as a similar pattern has played out in the men’s individual compound event that led to his ouster.

In the bronze medal play-off and deep in the business end of the match, Rakesh - with steely resolve - scored a perfect 10 in the final end to help India edge out Italy by a point.

As he heaved a sigh of relief, the 39-year old from Katra could now afford a smile.

From being rendered immobile as a 25-year old and discovering archery in 2017 to winning a Paralympics bronze medal in 2024, Rakesh was well and truly saved by the sport.

And now, with a bronze medal in his kitty, he looks ahead at life and all the shoot-offs that lie ahead with renewed purpose.