All posts tagged: Rakesh kumar

Toman Kumar’s incredible Para Archery journey

Toman Kumar’s incredible Para Archery journey

Published by Webster

As Rakesh exited the shooting platform on his wheelchair, Toman stood there awkwardly during the 2025 World Para Archery Championships in Gwanju, South Korea. He went to pat Rakesh on the back before gingerly raising his bow. Then came a wry smile, nearly forced. Toman Kumar was the world champion before Rakesh “bhaiyaa”. It wasn’t how he expected he would win with Rakesh withdrawing midway due to faulty equipment, but here he was at the centre of attention. As Toman raised his bow, his mind flashed back to February 2022. A CRPF jawan with the CoBRA battalion, Toman was involved in an operation against Maoists in Jharkhand’s Lohardaga district. “We had information that there were Maoists there,” recalled Toman in a conversation with The Bridge. “We were climbing the hill, when they suddenly opened fire. “We were running helter skelter and then…,” he tails off. Toman stepped on an IED device. It triggered a blast and he was airlifted to Ranchi. The doctors had to amputate his left leg. The world came crashing down for …

U Mumba appoint Rakesh Kumar as head coach

U Mumba appoint Rakesh Kumar as head coach

Published by Webster

The Pro Kabaddi League franchise U Mumbai appointed Rakesh Kumar as the new head coach of the team on Monday. A three-time Asian Games gold medallist and former India captain, Rakesh returns to the team after nine years. He had plied his trade for U Mumba as a player in season 3 of the league. “I am pleased with my homecoming to U Mumba after such a long time,” said Rakesh after the appointment. “I used to wear the Mumba colours as a player and now, I have the responsibility of coaching the side. “I hope that in the upcoming season, we build a strong squad and get the team back into the same rhythm it had in the first three seasons. We will work hard to achieve this. I am grateful to be back,” he added. One of the most respected players, past and present, in the Kabaddi circle, Rakesh Kumar has dominated the mat with discipline and tactical excellence, bringing his A-Game every time he entered the arena. Rakesh was the highest paid …

Paralympic champion Harvinder Singh fails to reach final

Paralympic champion Harvinder Singh fails to reach final

Published by Webster

Indian para-archers had a mixed day in the individual elimination round of the 2025 Asia Archery Para Cup as Paralympic medallists Rakesh Kumar and Harvinder Singh missed out on the final in Thailand on Saturday. On the other hand, three Indian archers made their way into the final, which is scheduled for Monday. Harvinder into the Bronze medal match The top-seeded Harvinder Singh had a great start to the competition as he made his way to the semi-final with a dominant 7-3 win against Indonesian archer Setiawan in the men’s recurve open category. However, he failed to maintain that in the semi-final, despite winning the opening two sets, facing a disappointing 4-6 defeat to Hanreuchai Netsiri of Thailand. Netsiri shot brilliant scores in the final two sets (29, 28) to seal the match. Harvinder will now take on Nurfaizal Hamzah of Malaysia in the bronze medal match on Monday. Harvinder, partnering with Pooja, will also compete in the mixed-team elimination round on Sunday. Three Indians in the final India also made it to the final …

Indian men’s recurve, women’s compound teams shoot gold

Indian men’s recurve, women’s compound teams shoot gold

Published by Webster

The Indian men’s recurve team and the women’s compound teams bagged a gold medal apiece at the 2025 Asia Para Cup World Ranking Tournament in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday. The Indian men’s team comprising of Harvinder Singh and Dhanna Ram Godara had a close shave in the gold medal match against Indonesia, but emerged victorious 5-4 in a shootout. Singh, the Paralympic champion, and Godara did not have the best of starts as they surrendered the first set by a massive margin of 31-38 to trail 0-2. However, they fought back to win the 38-34 and equalise the match at 4-4. The Indians then conceded the third set by a slender one-point margin at 34-35 before winning the fourth 33-32 to force a shootout. Singh and Godara continued to struggle in the shootout as well, shooting 17. But their opponents should only muster 16 in return to hand the Indians a gold medal. Meanwhile, the Indian women’s compound team of Sarita and Jyoti decimated the team from Chinese Taipei 146-133 to bag the gold medal …

Delhiwale: A stall goes on | Latest News Delhi

Delhiwale: A stall goes on | Latest News Delhi

Published by Parlour News

It was a pavement stall for used magazines. It had been standing on this spot for decades. One day last year, the stall didn’t open. Weeks passed, the stall didn’t open. Months passed, the stall didn’t open. This afternoon the stall is open, standing at its usual spot on Connaught Lane, the pedestrian-friendly stretch connecting Kasturba Gandhi Marg to Janpath Road. (HT Photo) This afternoon, the stall is open, standing at its usual spot on Connaught Lane, the pedestrian-friendly stretch connecting Kasturba Gandhi Marg to Janpath Road. “I was unwell,” stall proprietor Rakesh Kumar explains, giving reason for the long absence. The stall looks as rooted to the place as the sky above, making it difficult to believe that it was closed for half a year. As always, it is stacked with old issues of the New Yorker and Economist, along with a couple of UK Vogues, and one or two Architecture Digests, plus a torn copy of Newsweek, dated 1997, with the entire issue devoted to Princess Diana’s tragic death. The stall is also …

PKL makes debut in Australia with two exciting matches

PKL makes debut in Australia with two exciting matches

Published by Webster

The John Cain Arena played host to a historic PKL Melbourne Raid, featuring a spectacular double-header that showcased kabaddi’s finest talent from the PKL as well as from Australia on Saturday. The evening witnessed two contrasting matches: a nail-biting encounter between the PKL All-Star Masters and PKL Mavericks that ended in a thrilling 41-39 victory for the Mavericks. Meanwhile, the showpiece international clash between the Pro Kabaddi All Stars and the host nation’s Aussie Raiders saw the All Stars emerge victorious with a commanding 46-28 scoreline. The PKL Melbourne Raid’s opening match began with strong defensive displays before Saurabh Nandal’s Super Raid gave the PKL All-Star Masters an early lead. However, the PKL Mavericks responded with an All-Out, powered by two-point raids from Ajay Thakur and Pardeep Narwal. Despite this, the momentum shifted when Maninder Singh’s Super Raid inflicted an All-Out on the Mavericks, giving the Masters a 22-19 lead at half-time. The second half saw Pardeep Narwal showcase his prowess with a Super Raid, helping the Mavericks close the gap. Though the Masters briefly …

How Rakesh Kumar shrugged heartbreak to bag Paralympic Bronze

Published by Webster

A cavalcade, garlands, hugs, a victory dance and felicitations. That was how Katra welcomed its homegrown hero, Rakesh Kumar, earlier this week. The man himself is no longer the wheelchair bound dejected mobile charging shop-owner he once was. With the Paralympic Bronze medal gleaming around his neck, he is now a man brimming with hope and ambition. But a little over a decade ago, things were looking rather gloomy. Transformed by sports It was in 2010 that Rakesh suffered an accident that would turn his world upside down. But sport, and archery in particular, handed him a lifeline. And after success at the Asian Para Games and the World Archery Para Championships in 2023, Rakesh has now scaled a new summit. What then is the secret to his success, we ask him in an exclusive telephonic conversation. The response comes in a jiffy. “Sports bring punctuality to your life and your habits change,” he says. Citing his own life as an example, Rakesh feels that sport improves and transforms a person’s life. “Since I started …

Paralympics 2024: The near-misses that hurt

Published by Webster

India’s campaign at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris was nothing short of exceptional, as the country’s para-athletes collectively won 29 medals, including 7 gold, 9 silver, and 13 bronze. This medal tally could have been even higher but for several heartbreaking fourth-place finishes. Here is a look at all the fourth-place finishes secured by Indian para-athletes across various disciplines at the Paris Paralympics, where a medal narrowly eluded them. Archery Rakesh Kumar: The archer from Jammu & Kashmir missed out on a bronze by a whisker in the Men’s Individual Compound Open category thus earning him a 4th spot. The archer who had never qualified for the semifinals in the individual category up until the Paris Paralympics lost to Xinliang of China by just two points before losing to another Chinese para-archer Zihao by just a point,146 to Zi’s 147 in the bronze medal match. The 39-year-old Rakesh lost in the quarterfinals at the Tokyo Paralympics and the 4th place finish is his best so far at the Paralympics in the individual category However, …

Historic performance paves the way for India’s brighter future

Published by Webster

The Paris Paralympics have been historic for the Indian contingent with the para-athletes winning as many as 29 medals, including seven gold medals. Despite archery’s meteoric rise over the years, Indian para-archers were yet to make a lasting mark in the sport at the Paralympics. Previously, India won just one bronze medal in archery at the Paralympics won by Harvinder Singh at the Tokyo Paralympics in the men’s recurve event. But it changed at the Paris Paralympics, with India performing remarkably well, winning two medals, a gold in the men’s individual recurve event and a bronze in the mixed team compound event. Rakesh and Sheetal’s historic bronze Heading into the mixed team compound event, India were the top-seeded side, with Rakesh Kumar and teenage sensation Sheetal Devi coming off of a good showing in their respective events. After making light work of Indonesia in the quarterfinals, India faced a resolute Iranian team comprising Fatemeh Hemmati and Hadi Nori. After an intense four rounds, the match ended in a draw and in the resulting shoot-off, Fatemeh …

Saved by archery and driven by a Paralympics bronze

Published by Webster

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 …