Two shooters have shone for India in the South American leg of the ISSF World Cup in Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Lima (Peru).
In the build-up to the tournaments, the focus was on Saurabh Chaudhary. A former Asian Games champion, world record holder, and former world No. 1, Saurabh was in the wilderness after the Indian shooting contingent flattered to deceive in the Tokyo Olympic Games. Yet, he was the only shooter to reach the finals in that forgettable campaign.
Shooting’s success in last year’s Paris Olympic Games, where Manu Bhaker won two bronze medals, brought the game back into the limelight, but somehow, Saurabh remained out of the mix.
Now, just a few days shy of turning 23, Saurabh pulled off a medal-filled comeback with a gold and two bronze medals in the 10m air pistol at the ISSF World Cup.
The gold and one of the bronze medals came in the mixed team event with Suruchi Phogat, the new kid on the block in air pistol.
“I just have to keep on working hard, practise, and then give it my best shot in the tournaments,” Saurabh told The Telegraph from Lima during a chat facilitated by the NRAI. “If you ask me where I stand after these two tournaments, I would say I am at seven on a scale of 10. The battle is to reach 10,” the reticent shooter from Meerut said.
Saurabh’s lack of consistency after a booming start — he was just 19 during the Tokyo Games — was attributed to his failure to handle the intense pressure. “I am more mature now,” he said as a matter of fact.
Manu also had left Tokyo in tears, but scripted a fairytale comeback in Paris.
“If you ask me if I would be doing something similar in the Los Angeles Games in three years’ time, I would say I do not know. Right now it’s all about training and training,” he said.
Like Saurabh, Suruchi has burst onto the scene with a bang. Three gold and a bronze medal in her second international assignment, the 18-year-old is seen as the next best thing after Manu in pistol shooting. And one of the gold medals came defeating Manu in the 10m air pistol in Lima.
“Yes, it’s a nice feeling,” Suruchi said. She has already won a flurry of medals at the country’s top domestic competitions and exhibited unflappable temperament at a young age.
She is from Jhajjar in Haryana, the district where Manu also hails from. Before taking up shooting at the age of 13, Suruchi had never heard of India’s first Olympic Games individual gold medallist and shooter Abhinav Bindra.
“Neither Manu Bhaker nor Abhinav Bindra... I was oblivious of everything. Once I started liking the game and participated in tournaments, I realised how big Bindra sir’s achievement was.”
Saurabh and Suruchi teamed up to win a gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event in Lima last week and the teenager said it was one of the best moments in her fledgling career.
There is still time for LA 2028, and the gnawing fear of Suruchi peaking much earlier refuses to ebb. Her rousing form could be a dream of a false dawn, as it was the case with Saurabh.
“I am confident. The hunger to see the Tricolour flying and the national anthem playing drives me. That is what I live for.”
Big words coming from a shooter who has just started her journey in the international arena.