Arjun Singh Cheema shares his mantra for Paris 2024

When the Indian shooting squad for Paris 2024 was announced last week, one name caught the eye, that of Arjun Singh Cheema.

As a former World junior gold medalist, Cheema has been on the circuit for sometime now, and tasted success as well. Winning the Asian Games team gold medal and then twin silver medals in the Asian championships in 2024 underscores his quality. 

That said, speed bumps have curtailed his growth. He missed the bus at Tokyo and more recently at the Munich World Cup, one point kept him from bagging a direct berth to Paris 2024. 

Now, however, on the back of a superlative show at the selection trials, Cheema is heading to Paris 2024 as a part of India's twenty-one shooter squad.    

Training underway

Currently training with the squad in Austria, Cheema shared details of his preparations and expectations of the Olympics in an interaction with the media organised by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Wednesday. 

"Mentally, I've prepared for the games by considering them as a regular event," he said.

The Indian shooting contingent is world class and being a part of a squad of this nature, undoubtedly adds to the pressure. Chemma, therefore, spoke of how he lays emphasis on the process whilst the results take care of themselves. 

“Sport is a slow and constant effort putting work, sticking to the basics, and learning and improvement comes with time, you have to stay committed.”

He also added that after the selection the trainings have now 'gone technical' and the emphasis is on 'precision'. 

The squad is currently undergoing rigorous training which comprises of yoga and meditation followed by several hours of shooting in the morning. The evenings are dedicated to physical workouts and recovery sessions. 

A mental game

Cheema spoke of shooting as a game of precision and a mental game where the focus entirely lies on one shot at a time.

“Sport is a slow and constant effort putting work, sticking to the basics, and learning and improvement comes with time, you have to stay committed,” he said.

The presence of a psychologist in the contingent, according to Cheema, is a bliss. As per the shooter, constant support in maintaining the mental well-being of the athletes could have significant positives.

The 23-year-old was also elated with a recent interaction with Abhinav Bhindra.

“Abhinav Bindra has been an inspiration for all of us. All the Olympic Shooting Squad had the chance to interact with Abhinav Bindra via Zoom, where he described his preparation, and a few techniques and gave words of wisdom.”

Dual role at Paris

Arjun Singh Cheema is going to represent India at the 10m Air Pistol event and the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event at the upcoming Paris Olympics. In the Mixed Team event, he will team up with Rhythm Sangwan.

As a teenager studying at the Lawernce School in Sanawar, young Cheema juggled between swimming and shooting. Over time, shooting took precedence and with support from the school and his long-term personal coach Satguru Das, he transformed into an ace shooter. 

The youngster comes from a family with a history in sports. 

His uncle, Jagwinder Singh, holds an Asian junior powerlifting record and supposedly imparted early lessons on how shooting was a mind-game and advocated meditation.

When asked about how his family is celebrating his qualification, Chemma was humble - "The family will decide how to celebrate. My part is to work hard."

For now though, the youngster has blinders on and is focused only on Paris 2024 and not thinking about competition - "I’ll just look out for Arjun Singh Cheema."