Visually impaired but unstoppable: Army officer aims for Shooting World Cup Gold

Visually impaired Army officer sets up eyes on Shooting World Cup. (PTI Photo)

After losing his vision in an accident a few years ago, Lieutenant Colonel Dwarkesh, a skilled marksman, remained determined to succeed in sports and is now aiming to win a gold medal for India in the upcoming World Cup for visually impaired shooters.

The Army officer, 38, who would rather go by one name, participates in the shooting competition with the 10 meter air rifle.

Dwarkesh, who is likely the only visually challenged officer in the Army at the moment, has been training for a year at the Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) at Mhow, a military cantonment roughly 25 kilometers from Indore city, in preparation for the World Cup.

He uses an audio aiming gadget, which uses sound to identify the target, to aim during shooting competitions.

Dwarkesh stated in an interview with PTI on Thursday that he had always aspired to serve in the military and play 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 pointed out that while competitions for visually challenged shooters have been held for a very long time in other nations, national championships of this kind only began to take place in India a few years ago.

Gold medals in the '10 meter air rifle prone' category were awarded to him in the last two national contests, Dwarkesh reported.

The officer stated that he has set a goal to win a gold medal in the visually impaired category of the Parachuting World Cup, which will take place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in October and November, after being inspired by his performance at national competitions in India.

Dwarkesh has a spirit of adventure and has excelled in a variety of national-level swimming contests in addition to shooting.

He was one of eight disabled people who set a record in 2021 by climbing the Siachen Glacier, the highest battlefield in the world. The Siachen Glacier is a dangerous area in J&K where temperatures can drop to -55 degrees Celsius and blizzards are frequent occurrences.

According to the officer, he focuses on reaching his athletic objectives and employs ChatGPT, a well-known generative artificial intelligence chatbot, to learn the newest shooting techniques.

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."