Paris Paralympics 2024: Shooter Rudransh Khandelwal eyes success in maiden campaign, prepared for any eventuality

Being prepared for any eventuality and remaining confident in his ability is 17-year-old pistol marksman Rudransh Khandelwal’s mantra in life as he embarks on a journey to bring India glory at the Paris Paralympics.

Having lost his left leg in a freak mishap when he was just eight years old, the teenaged Bharatpur-born boy never let disability come in his way as he excelled in shooting to become the world No. 1 in 50m pistol (SH1) and is now aiming for nothing less than a gold in his maiden Paralympics campaign.

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To achieve his aim, he is leaving nothing to chance, including taking a spare pistol and a tool-kit for his prosthetic leg, just in case it breaks during competition.

Seeing ace shooter Manu Bhaker struggle with a pistol malfunction during the Tokyo Olympics was a “lesson” for Rudransh, who now always carries a spare pistol for both domestic and international competitions.

“Like the weapon malfunction during competition, how to quickly get used to the other (spare) weapon and shoot. I prepare myself for every eventuality in competition, including a delayed match, a shot getting cancelled, or any other eventuality.

“So, if at all an adverse situation arises, I will be ready to handle it,” said Rudransh, adding, he learnt this after seeing Manu’s pistol malfunction in Tokyo.

Manu had a pistol malfunction during the 10m competition in Tokyo, which cost her a place in the final.

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“Definitely, that (Manu incident) gave me that thought (to always keep a spare weapon). You might have confidence in your abilities but the weapon is only an equipment, which can malfunction anytime. Following that incident, every shooter gives priority to a spare weapon,” said one of India’s best medal hopes at the Paralympics, which starts on Wednesday.

A broken prosthetics leg just 15 minutes before the start of a domestic competition gave Rudransh another lesson in life — to be ready with a tool-kit to promptly repair the contraption.

“It’s happened 15-20 minutes before a match, when my prosthetic leg broke. Now, I keep a tool-kit to quickly repair it. And, if it happens again, I am ready for it,” said Rudransh, whose leg got severed while he was watching fireworks during a cousin’s marriage in Bharatpur in 2015.

“There was a short-circuit in the electronic gadget controlling the fireworks and a flying metal plate severed my left leg just below the knee.

“I was taken to a hospital in Bharatpur, from where I was referred to Jaipur and then to a hospital in Gurugram but my leg couldn’t be saved. So, the next thing was a prosthetic leg,” said Rudransh.

Life returned to normal after six months but his mother’s biggest worry was Rudransh not falling victim to depression. A lecturer in Bharatpur University, she started looking for options to keep him busy.

“She thought sports would be a good way to keep me from drifting into depression. She did a lot of research before initiating me into shooting.”

Rudransh started taking baby steps in the sport with Sumit Rathi, his coach, helping him.

“I could not stand on my prosthetic leg for more than 2-3 hours during practice. He (coach) continued to work on me and from 2-3 hours, it became 7-8 hours.”

While Rudransh started with 10m air pistol, it took him seven years to get into the national squad, and that is when he was at his lowest.

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“I have seen those failures and thought I should quit. But family support helped me to continue. For seven years, I missed the national squad by fraction of a point. But in 2022, I switched to 50m pistol at the insistence of my coach and life took an unlikely turn… it turned upside down.

“Cut to 2022, I got selected in the national squad and played my first World Cup. In my second World Cup, I got four gold medals with three world records. Then came the World Championship, where I won the Paralympic Games quota, following which I also won two silver medals at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou.”

Even as he continued to compete in international competitions, he had to regularly travel to Delhi for consultations with doctors for readjustment of the prosthetic leg.

“I’m 17 years old and continue to grow, so every month the prosthetic leg has to be readjusted. I have had four prosthetic leg replacements since I lost my leg. Recently, with the help of TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) funding, I have been able to afford a high-end adjustable leg costing Rs. 8 lakh,” he said.

“Before that, the leg I used, it didn’t give me proper balance and I used to fall often… the (walking) speed was also slow.”

Rudransh said there is no pressure of expectation going into the Paralympics as his preparations have gone “really well”.

“On the contrary, it feels nice that people’s expectations are high and they have faith in the Indian shooting contingent. So, there is no pressure on me as I have full confidence on the process and I know that I will do my best.”