A shocking incident at a private shooting range in Faridabad, India has left a national-level pistol shooter with grievous injuries to his left hand.
Pushpender Kumar, a marksman employed with the Indian Air Force, lost his left thumb in a freak incident when the air pistol cylinder exploded while he was refilling it with compressed air on Saturday evening.
Pushpender was preparing for the 66th National Shooting Championship, currently underway in Bhopal.
The shooter hailing from Baghpat district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, was rushed to the Army’s Research and Referral Hospital where he underwent surgery.
The air pistol Pushpender was using when the mishap happened is a leading brand used by top pistol shooters like Manu Bhaker. In 2018, the company had recalled the cylinders manufactured by it in 2016 and 2017 and offered to replace them for free.
“After checks carried out in the company we ask you, for security reason, to ship us or to our dealers, empty cylinders produced in 2016 or 2017 for checks. You will be supplied with replacement cylinders,” stated the company.
Pushpender was using a cylinder of 2017 make and his injury is a wakeup call for the thousands of air pistol and rifle shooters in the country to maintain their equipment as per the guidelines of the manufacturers and adhere to periodic updates.