Sarabjot Singh overcomes inhibitions, basks in Olympic glory

Destiny cannot be changed. Indian pistol shooter Sarajbot Singh should know it better than anyone else.

In three days, two contrasting images of Sarabjot prevailed at the Paris Olympics, presenting how unpredictable sports could be.

He tasted failure and success in the same Olympics, making it a unique experience for the 22-year-old.

On Sunday, Sarabjot was naturally heartbroken as he succumbed to pressure in the men’s 10m air pistol qualification round. A seat in the final eluded him.

His years of sweat, sacrifice, and hard work seemingly have vanished. He sat on the chair at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre bowing down his head, as if the roof fell in.

When Sarabjot faced the media, he was unable to decipher his performance. He was destroyed.

For a shooter who dazzled at the Olympic selection trials earlier this year and was coming into his first Olympics after winning gold in the Munich World Cup last month and gold at the 10m air pistol Indian team in Asian Games Hangzhou, the ninth-place finish was quite an unexpected outcome.

But when sports can pour your heart with sadness, it can also fill you with unbridled joy.

The boy from Dhin village of Haryana woke up and started the competition anew on Tuesday. He showed sheer courage and fighting spirit to deliver a sterling performance and bring himself back to glory from the darkness of defeat.

In the eventuality of action, he immersed himself in fame, becoming an Olympic medallist and churning out a historic moment for Indian shooting.

Indian shooters, who had failed to sustain the early promises at the Olympics for the last 12 years and were trolled brutally, gave the country two medals at Paris 2024.

Sarabjot teamed up with Manu Bhaker, a fellow Haryana shooter who already shattered the gloom of Tokyo 2021 with a bronze medal in the individual category last weekend, to beat South Korea's Lee Wonho and Oh Ye Jin by a comprehensive margin (16-10) and stood proud on the podium with the medal wrapped around his neck.

By winning the bronze medal, Sarabjot became only the fifth Indian man's shooter to get the prized possession of the Olympics.

As the medal came in a brimming smile wiped off the melancholy. But Sarabjot is a calm man; there was no outlandish celebration.

"It was a tough game, but I am feeling very happy," Sarabjot muffled after savouring the medal moment.

Rising above the clamour

Before today's bronze medal playoff, the spotlight was on Manu since she was on course to achieve history for herself and the nation.

By winning her second successive medal at Paris 2024, Manu not only crushed the ghost of Tokyo but also took pride in becoming independent India's first athlete to attain two medals at the same Olympics.

Hence for Sarabjot to come out of Manu's shadow, he needed to pull his game up to give him a chance to bask in the glory of the biggest sporting spectacle of the world.

The beginning of the playoff was a little shaky for Sarajbot, with the heartbreak of the individual final visibly remaining strong on his mind.

He could shoot only a below-par 8.6 in the first attempt, resulting in a two-point lead for the South Korean duo compared to India's 18.8.

The atmosphere was demanding and the stakes were high. Sarabjot knew he needed to up the ante to set aside the despair of the past. She displayed his mental resolve by not caving in under the intense situation.

To bring India back on top of the tally, he would shoot a brilliant 10.5. With Manu sustaining her shots, India claimed a two-point lead after the end of the second series.

Sarabjot did not look since. The demons that were wailing in the brain were no longer troubling him. He was focused on the medal.

Eventually, when his time came to rise above the clamour and pull them ahead of the Koreans, he did not buckle under pressure; he soaked it instead and shot another magnificent 10.5 to earn them a slender lead.

Displaying his consistency, he would end the 13-series match with a 10.2 shot to widen India's gap with Korea and claim the gong.

Since childhood, Sarabjot never shied away from running the hard yards.

For a shooter who would cycle for more than five kilometres and take a local bus to Ambala, a city 50km from his village, to get trained to become a shooter, this medal was a true testament to his dedication and commitment to the sport, and his presence and skills in shooting.