Meet shot put’s big hope Samardeep Gill: Born in Gujarat, made in MP

Standing tall at over 6’5’’, wearing a turban, Samardeep Singh Gill might easily be mistaken for an average athlete from Patiala or Jalandhar in Punjab. However, the reigning South Asian Athletics Champion can stump you with ‘manne avde chhe’ (I know how to speak) in chaste Gujarati. The reason is that this 24-year-old shot putter was born in Valsad, Gujarat. His father, Mahender Singh Gill, who is a senior Bridge Railways Inspector, has spent several years in Gujarat. Now, the throw champion is honing his skills at the MP Academy in Bhopal.

“You can call me an Indian in all essence. Born in Gujarat, now training in Madhya Pradesh,” says Samardeep, who is equally articulate in English.

Late bloomer

He is a late bloomer in track and field. His initial foray into sports was cricket. As a medium-paced bowler and lower-order hard-hitting batsman, he served as a utility player for his district team. However, his father wanted the young Samardeep to get fitter. That is where the budding cricketer started to get interested in throwing competitions.

“When we moved to Ratlam, I would go to practice at GRI. There, I was selected for the district team, but I was overweight, and my father advised me to get fit. He introduced me to Jagminder sir, who was a shot putter in Railways. I would work out daily with him and I started to get fitter. One day he asked me to try my hand at shot put,” Samardeep said about his early foray into the discipline.

“I really became interested when my elder brother took me to a local competition. I threw 11m while others were struggling to cross 2-3m. That day, I realised I have a better future in throw events,” he added.

As he got better, he shifted to Jalandhar to hone his skills but returned in only three months because he was missing his home. “I have never lived alone, so when the MP Academy called me, I happily accepted as Ratlam is only three hours away from Bhopal. I was able to go back to my home every weekend,” he said.

However, just as his junior career started to blossom, a devastating injury followed by the Covid lockdowns stopped Samardeep in his tracks.

“My technique was weak during my junior days. I have never won a medal in the junior level because I broke my ankle and had to undergo a surgery. I took a lot of time to recover but when I recovered, I won the gold medal in school games (SGFI). After that Covid brought everything to a standstill,” he said.

“After recovery, I was afraid to see the stopper board in the circle. I was afraid that I would injure my ankle again. It took me a whole year to overcome that fear and by the time I could practice again, we went into a lockdown. Just like that, my junior career ended,” he said.

Now Samardeep is one of India’s big hopes in shot put as he is consistently crossing the 19m mark and has put the former Asian Games gold medallist and current National Record holder, Tajinder Singh Toor, under a lot of pressure.

“It feels great as my average this year has been over 19m. I've been working hard to improve my personal best, but the fault lies with me; but overall the season was well. I could cross 20m soon. I could have done that yesterday but I was rushing into my throwing technique. But we will overcome it soon and raise the bar,” he said.

“We have a big year coming up. I want to do well at the Asian Games and at the Commonwealth Games. It would be a special feeling to do well at the Commonwealth Games as the competition would be tough,” he added.