NEW DELHI: In an unfortunate incident, Pushpender Kumar, a national-level shooter, lost his left thumb after the compressed cylinder attached below the barrel of his 10m air pistol gun exploded when he was filling it up.
According to officials in the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), the incident occurred on Saturday evening when Kumar – a corporal with the Indian Air Force (IAF) – was practising at a private range in Faridabad along with his coach. His shooting arm is safe.
“An unfortunate incident has come to our notice regarding a shooter. While practising at a range in Faridabad, he was grievously injured when the gas cylinder of his air pistol exploded. While the NRAI has no involvement in his training at the range, we are deeply concerned and wish the shooter a speedy recovery,” the NRAI said.
Hailing from Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, Kumar was preparing for the National Championships currently underway in Bhopal. He has been admitted to the Indian Army’s Referral and Research hospital in the Capital.
NRAI president Kalikesh Singh Deo told TOI that the general safety guidelines as provided in the International Shooting Sport Federation’s (ISSF) technical rulebook and by manufacturers should be strictly followed by all shooters and range officials.
“General safety guidelines provided by the ISSF and manufacturers should be strictly adhered to by shooters and range officials. Care should be taken to not use old cylinders, past its validity date or fill excessive gas,” he said.
It’s been learnt that Kumar filled up the compressed air into the pistol cylinder more than it was required, which caused the explosion.
According to ISSF’s technical rulebook’s rule No. 6.2.4.2, “it is the athlete’s responsibility to ensure that any air or CO2 cylinder is still within its validity date. This may be checked by equipment control”.
The officials informed that the shooter would be able to recover within a month after his surgery, which has already been conducted at the R&R hospital.
