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Disabled champ gets a shove
NARESH SHARMA has walked on crutches all his life but that hasn?t stopped him from making a mark for himself in shooting.
NARESH SHARMA has walked on crutches all his life but that hasn’t stopped him from making a mark for himself in shooting.
The marksman, who is paralysed from the waist below, has won 32 international medals in pistol and rifle shooting. He recently won a gold medal in the 11th Hessian Trophy in Germany and a bronze in the Swiss Open with world class scores.
But today, Naresh is unhappy at being left out of the regular Indian team for the World Cup that is scheduled to be held in Germany and Italy in June.
“I have been run down by one and all… I even said that I was ready to foot my bills, but they wouldn’t listen,” said Naresh.
“I switched over from pistol to rifle (prone) only because that’s the only event where one doesn’t have to stand and even a handicapped shooter is as good as the rest of the field. But here too my being handicapped came in the way,” said Naresh.
National shooting coach Sunny Thomas said, “I congratulated him on his performance recently but the handicap rules are so complex that we don’t want to take chances. Moreover, he does not figure in the top-six in the category.”
“Last year in the same (Hessian Trophy) championship, I had shot 592 and won gold. But when I returned to India I was told that my employers Airports Authority of India had terminated my services,” said Naresh, who is being supported by industrialist and MP Naveen Jindal.
“If tomorrow the support is withdrawn, I am on the streets… I have even written to the President and Prime Minister but to no avail. I don’t know how many times do I have to prove myself,” Naresh said.
