Who is Sarabjot Singh? Meet Manu Bhaker’s shooting partner who secured India’s second medal at the Paris Olympics 2024
PTC News Desk: In the 10m air pistol mixed team event, Sarabjot Singh and Manu Bhaker, two of India’s young shooters, won a bronze medal in the Paris Olympics in 2024. In a commanding performance, Manu and Sarabjot, 22, defeated South Korea 16–10 to win India’s second Olympic silver.
#WATCH | Shooter Sarabjot Singh’s father, Jitender Singh, Assistant Coach Gaurav Saini and others celebrate in Ambala, Haryana.
At #ParisOlympics2024, shooters Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh brought India its second medal as they won Bronze in 10m Air Pistol Mixed team event. pic.twitter.com/yTR3j22L43
— ANI (@ANI) July 30, 2024
Sarabjot became the first Indian shooter to win a shooting medal at the quadrennial showpiece since Gagan Narang and Vijay Kumar, while Manu solidified her status as the first athlete of independent India to win multiple medals at a single Olympics after her bronze in the women’s individual on Monday. It’s interesting to note that Narang earned his bronze on July 30, 2012, precisely 12 years ago.
#WATCH | Ambala, Haryana: At #ParisOlympics2024, shooters Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh bring India its second medal as they win Bronze in 10m Air Pistol Mixed team event.
Sarabjot Singh’s Assistant Coach, Gaurav Saini says, “It feels great. The entire nation is proud of them.… pic.twitter.com/yMSEPAVmfU
— ANI (@ANI) July 30, 2024
Sarabjot scored 110.2 out of 261.3 for India, which included two 10.2 shots and a 10.5 shot when Manu faltered a little. Sarabjot covered Manu’s sole shot below ten, an 8.3 on her ninth try, with a 10.2, ensuring India maintained their lead. Sarabjot finished his journey of redemption while Manu made history. Sarabjot finished ninth, one spot outside of the top eight, on Saturday, the first day of the Olympic Games, and was unable to advance to the final.
“Congratulations to Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh for winning bronze medal for India in the mixed team 10 metre air pistol event for shooting! Manu Bhaker has created history, becoming the first woman shooter from India to win two medals in the same Olympic games. She has done… pic.twitter.com/LFZaPmqoXe
— ANI (@ANI) July 30, 2024
Sarabjot finished six series short of a medal round position, but he tied Germany’s Robin Walter with 577 points overall. The deciding factor was the number of inner 10s, the smallest and most coveted target in the 10m range. With one more inside 10, Walter overcame Sarabjot to claim the eighth and final qualifying slot. One more bullseye turned out to be the difference between medal contention and elimination from the competition.
Sarabjot Singh’s incredible journey to the top
Sarabjot is from the Ambala village of Dheen. His mother Hardeep Kaur stays at home while his father Jatinder Singh is a farmer. He trained under coach Abhishek Rana at the AR Shooting Academy in Ambala Cantt, which is housed within the Central Phoenix Club, while attending DAV College, Sector 10, Chandigarh.
Sarabjot won the gold medal in the 2019 Junior World Championship and went on to win the mixed team silver and team gold in the Asian Games in 2023 before moving up to the senior ranks. Along the road, he also earned a quota spot for the Olympics in Paris by winning the individual bronze at the 2023 Asian Championships.
At first, Sarabjot wanted to play football, but after seeing kids using pistols to aim at paper targets at a summer camp, his interest in the sport apparently changed significantly. His mental state was profoundly affected by this encounter, which inspired him to take up shooting.
Sarabjot succeeded in persuading his parents to support his plan to pursue shooting as a career, despite his father’s initial resistance owing to the sport’s expense.
His first district-level competition resulted in a silver medal, and he started professional instruction with Abhishek Rana, who has been his trainer since 2016. At the 65th National Shooting Championships in December 2022, Sarabjot won two gold medals. She won the team competition at the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy of Excellence in Bhopal.
Sarabjot won gold in the team and mixed-team competitions at the 2021 Junior World Championship. In the first World Cup final match in March 2023, he demonstrated even more excellence by winning a gold medal with a flawless score of 16–0. He finished first overall with 253.2 points, and he was the competition’s highest scorer with 585 points.
Also Read: Paris Olympic 2024: Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh win bronze in 10m air pistol mixed team event