Army's lone blind officer gets PMO invite for R-Day function ACE SHOOTER, SIACHEN CLIMBER DEFIES ODDS sandip.di...@timesgroup.com Pune : Fate pulled the trigger but Lt Col Dwarakesh fired back. The army's only blind activeduty officer currently posted at the Station Headquarters in Pune's Khadki has never let his impairment stand in his way. After an accident claimed his eyes early in his career, the 35-year-old won a shooting national medal and climbed the Siachen Glacier. Another milestone looms this week-the Prime Minister's Office has invited the officer to the Republic Day function in New Delhi. "I have lost my eyesight, not my vision for life. I have found a new identity in sports," Dwarakesh had said after winning the gold in Nov 2023. The officer, who has excelled in shooting since his active military service days, scored 591 points in the visually impaired 10m air rifle shooting event. Asked about the accident, Dwarakesh said, "I cannot say anything about what happened except that other army personnel died and I sustained lifelong injuries. I was in hospital for eight months." One of the last things he remembers seeing is a basketball match he played at a military station. Dwarakesh now works in office administration with help from hi-tech assistive gadgets. "There are several advanced AI-based software tools that help me read the computer, cellphones and iPad screens," he said. Though his impairment planted hurdles, he appealed to the Paralympic Committee of India, which provided him infrared sensorbased shooting equipment. "I practised at a private shooting range in Pune under former Olympian Anjali Bhagwat's guidance," the officer said. In Oct 2021, Dwarakesh was one of eight disabled Indians to scale Siachen and create a world record. JP Nautiyal, chairperson of para shooting sports technical committee of Paralympic Committee 1/27/24, 3:33 PM Times of India ePaper mumbai - Read Today's English News Paper Online https://epaper.indiatimes.com/timesepaper/publication-the-times-of-india,cit y-mumbai.cms 2/2 of India, said Dwarakesh and another civilian woman are the only two blind para shooters in the country
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