Sarabjot Singh.
PTI Photo
Chateauroux: Sarabjot Singh was in a complete daze after playing a solid supporting act in starlet Manu Bhaker attaining stardom on Tuesday.
As Bhaker kept flashing her wide smile to the shutterbugs after becoming the first Indian athlete to win two medals in a single Olympic Games, Sarabjot stood there almost numb with emotion.
“Thoda hus lo (smile a bit),” screamed coach Samaresh Jung, holding his mobile and trying to snap the historic moment after Sarabjot and Bhaker won the 10M air pistol mixed team bronze medal at the Chateauroux Shooting Range.
“Take the flag, hold it wide and smile man,” said another member of the support staff. Voices kept coming from all corners in the stands.
The 22-year-old Bhaker, having already won the 10M air pistol individual bronze, was at ease while soaking in all the applause. Sarabjot, competing in his first Olympics and struggling to come to terms with what he had achieved, took it easy.
By the time the medal was placed around his neck almost an hour later, he seemed a tad comfortable. Probably he was finding it hard to process all those years of sweat, blood and toil that led to this moment of glory.
Coming into the Paris Olympics as one of the underdogs in the shooting contingent, the 22-year-old placed himself into an elite league of medal winners like Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Abhinav Bindra, Vijay Kumar and Gagan Narang from his sport.
Son of a farmer from Dheena Jai village in Ambala, Haryana, Sarabjot’s journey to the Olympic podium is like most of Indian athletes from small towns who have to endure plenty of hardships to scale the ladder of success.
Shooting came completely accidental to Sarabjot and after some promising shows in district competitions, his uncle suggested the name of coach Abhishek Rana to his father.
Initially his father was hesitant because of the huge cost but since Jatinder Singh was reasonably economically sound, Sarabjot was taken to Rana’s AR Shooting Academy in Central Phoenix Club in late 2016.
“His dad asked me when can we start and I said let’s start today,” a delighted Rana, who has come to Chateauroux on his own money as he did not get accreditation and buys tickets everyday costing 44 euros to watch his ward, said.
Linking up with Rana and shooting at a proper range is what Sarabjot wanted. But that entailed a lot of sacrifice. He had to make daily trips lasting an hour one-way by a bus just to get there. He made all that count when he achieved his first success at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, 2019 where he bagged a 10m air pistol gold.
His major international breakthrough at the senior level came at the Bhopal World Cup last year where he clinched the 10m air pistol gold. Since then his stock has been steadily rising with coach Rana being the main man behind it.
“We have worked for eight/nine years together. Medal matters the most to each and every athlete. He started shooting in 2016, his first medal was the national bronze medal in 2017. Since he won the medal, his attitude towards the game changed completely,” said Rana.
“I know this is a bronze medal but it is an Olympic one and life has just started for him. He is 22 now and we have a long journey ahead of us. We hope to go through that journey with much more experience. The goal is to win a singles medal at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
”For Sarabjot the plan is to buy a car when he gets back home. “Yes I love fast cars but I’m not sure if I can buy one. I just want to buy a car."