Bhaker and Singh qualified for the bronze medal match against a solid South Korean pair.
In a cutthroat, fierce competition in the Paris Olympics 2024 arena, Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh have engraved their names in Indian history and the sporting world by winning the second medal for India. They won a bronze medal in the 10-metre air pistol mixed team event.
Bhaker and Singh qualified for the bronze medal match against a solid South Korean pair, Oh Ye Jin and Lee Wonho. It was a contest in a race-to-16-point format. India won it convincingly, 16-10, adding to their medal tally and making Bhaker the first Indian athlete to win multiple medals at a single Olympic Games. The match lasted for 17 minutes. Though the South Koreans started well, Bhaker's precision and Singh's resilience became too hot to handle. The bronze was secured in their final and probably most critical surge, with 19.6 against Korea's 18.5.
The Indian shooter community is celebrating the win. In this article, we will discuss Sarabjot Singh's life and his journey to the Olympic medal.
The disappointment was written all over Sarabjot's face when he missed the final of the men's 10-metre air pistol event by one inner ten shot behind German Robin Walter last Saturday. The 22-year-old from Ambala could not control the tears in his eyes while being overcome with emotions. Later that evening, a call from his father, Jatinder Singh Sahansweral, proved to be a turning point in Sarabjot's redemption.
Sarabjot is from Deen village in Punjab. His father is a farmer, and his mother is a homemaker. At 13, Sarabjot Singh went to a summer camp, where he witnessed a few children carrying air guns at a makeshift range. Though he had ambitions of becoming a footballer, the sight of those kids aiming at paper targets with pistols left a deep imprint in his mind. This moment kindled a spark that would eventually steer his ambitions towards the sport of shooting.
In 2014, Sarabjot began his journey from a school camp in a nearby village under coach Shakti Rana. There were over 30 trainees who shared a single pistol. When the academy closed in 2016, Sarabjot joined Shooters Terrace Academy in Ambala Cantt under coach Abhishek Rana. He would park his bicycle at a friend's place and take a bus to train, as there were no direct buses from his village. In early 2017, he won a youth bronze medal at the national championships. After his win, his father purchased his first pistol for him.
In 2019, Sarabjot went on to win the gold medal at the Junior World Cup and Asian Championships. His first cash award came from the Haryana government in 2020. Coach Abhishek Rana remembers the early days of training when Sarabjot had developed physical strength and resilience. He said Sarabjot possessed a natural grip but did not have the perfect trigger movement, which took time. He told his scores used to be in the 577โ578 range, adding that with some focused training, he evolved to hit around 584-585 constantly.
๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ก ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ญ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ
โ The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) June 6, 2024
At precisely what is termed as a crucial and difficult World Cup, ๐ฎ๐ณ's Sarabjot hit 242.7 to vouch for the glory in Men's 10m Air Pistol final. A show of power at the #ISSF World Cup in Munich.#Shooting pic.twitter.com/JOA86RVt3o
Sarabjot's recent performances have been exceptional. In 2021, he won two gold medals at the Junior World Championship in Lima, excelling in team and mixed-team events. His success continued in 2022, as he won a gold medal in the team and silver in the mixed team at the Asian Games, apart from gold and silver at the Junior World Cup in Suhl.
In 2023, he continued to prove his worth by winning a gold medal in the single event at the ISSF World Cup in Bhopal and another gold medal in the mixed team event at the World Cup in Baku. At the Asian Championships in Korea, he won a bronze medal in the 10-metre air pistol single event, which earned him a quota place for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
