Glory with gun: Visually impaired Army officer sets eyes on winning gold at shooting World Cup

Indore, Aug 28 (PTI) Lieutenant Colonel Dwarkesh, an accomplished marksman, lost his vision in an accident a few years ago, but that did dent his determination to excel in sports and he has now set his eyes on winning a gold medal for India in the ensuing World Cup for visually impaired shooters.

The 38-year-old Army officer, who prefers to use one name, competes in the 10 meter air rifle category of shooting.

In run-up to the World Cup, Dwarkesh, probably the only visually impaired officer serving in the Army currently, has been practicing for a year at the Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) in Mhow, a military cantonment located about 25km from Indore city.

At shooting competitions, he aims with the help of a device that indicates the target through sound (audio aiming device).

Talking to PTI on Thursday, Dwarkesh revealed he always wanted to be a soldier and alongside also take part in sports.

"I wanted to join the Army since childhood and my dream came true in 2009. Even after joining the Army, I remained associated with sports. After losing my eyes in an accident a few years later, I did not understand for a long time what to do next? "However, in 2022, I came to know for the first time that there are international competitions for visually impaired shooters. Then I decided to move forward in this direction (take part in such events)," said the officer.

He noted that competitions for visually impaired shooters have been going on in different countries for a very long time, but in India, such events at the national level started only a few years ago.

Dwarkesh informed that he has won gold medals in the last two national competitions in the '10 meter air rifle prone' category.

Buoyed by his exploits at national competitions in India, the officer said he has now set a target of winning a gold medal in the visually impaired category of the Parachuting World Cup to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in October-November.

Apart from shooting, Dwarkesh has also excelled in different national-level swimming competitions and has an adventurous streak.

In 2021, he was part of a group of eight persons with disabilities who created a record by scaling the world’s highest battlefield, the Siachen Glacier, a treacherous terrain in J&K where temperatures dip to below -55 degrees Celsius and blizzards are a common phenomenon.

The officer noted he uses ChatGPT, a popular, generative artificial intelligence chatbot, to understand the latest developments and tricks of shooting and his focus is on achieving his sporting goals.

Sharing facets of his life, Dwarkesh said, "From my experiences so far, I have learned that hard work never fails. If you keep moving forward on your path while working hard, then one day you will definitely reach your destination." PTI HWP MAS RSY