Back in the late 1980s, Ebrahim Ranjbar was a strapping young soldier from Tehran, serving on the battlefront during the long Iran-Iraq War — till he was dealt with a debilitating injury that forced him into a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

These days, the 39-year-old is on an entirely different shooting spree — he’s a professional archer now, travelling the world on various international championships, donning the Iranian archery team shirt.

In the city for the 4th Asian Archery Grand Prix, Ebrahim came up with his career-best performance, picking up a silver medal in the recurve men’s section at the SAI Complex in Kolkata. He competed from his wheelchair alongside another wheelchair-bound archer from the Iranian contingent.

Usually calm and composed, Ebrahim broke down in tears after losing the gold medal to Bangladesh boy Md Sajjad Hossain. Later, the soldier-turned-archer recalled the days past, and contemplated how life has changed for him.

“I was serving the Army during the War. I was a soldier on the battlefront during those days,” Ebrahim recounted, speaking to reporters through an interpreter. “Today, things are totally different. I lead a happy and peaceful life .”

So what is it that keeps motivating Ebrahim as an archer? “I always liked sports, and I took an interest in archery after I left the army, and it’s what I look forward to these days. This is my best performance so far. I hope to win a gold medal some day in a major international tournament,” he said, as his team mates draped him with a huge Iran flag for the prize distribution.

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