Olympics-bound rifle shooter Sandeep Singh’s road to redemption

Vinayak Padmadeo

New Delhi, June 30

Olympics-bound rifle shooter Sandeep Singh seems unfazed by the prospect of making his Olympics debut. The 28-year-old Naib Subedar from Faridkot said he has seen plenty of struggles in his life. In fact, Sandeep said that he will try to enjoy the moment, try to recreate what he has been doing in training and hope for the best.

When he was first provisionally suspended after his urine sample showed presence of a beta blocker in 2019, Sandeep thought his dreams had all but ended. Considered a dope cheat, he was targeted by his fellow trainees in the Army Marksman Unit (AMU) in Mhow. He was finally suspended for two years after the Covid pandemic delayed his hearings. By then, he had lost his bearings.

First, he was sent back to his unit — 10 Sikh Light Infantry — that was posted at Siachen in 2021. Then, he was posted in Fatehgarh, Uttar Pradesh, where he trained new recruits to shoot a rifle.

“I lost everything then. I was in the top-four in rankings in 2019 and suddenly I was taunted as though I had committed some crime. I lost almost two years,” Sandeep said.

“I would train myself in the night as I was on duty in the morning teaching new recruits how to fire a gun,” he added.

But the fire to redeem his name and get back to the Indian team fold kept burning. “I told my seniors to allow me to take part in two trials in 2023 with a rider that if I fail I would not shoot again. Thankfully, I did well in both the trials and things have been looking up since then,” he said.

In the immediate aftermath, Sandeep won the gold medal in Kumar Surendra Singh competition and then silver at the 2023 National Games. That started his rehabilitation in the community. He was soon recalled to AMU and has now earned the all-important place to represent India in the 10m rifle competition at the Paris Games.

Sandeep had to fight to keep his place. He outshot former world champion Rudrankksh Patil in the four Olympics trials. However, there was a lot of outside pressure to select Patil for his past wins. The National Rifle Association of India stuck to its policy and picked Sandeep. Asked whether he was feeling the pressure during or after the trials, the Army man said it was nothing compared to what he had to endure during training.

“Two months before the trials, I was told to shoot alone, with families of those in AMU sitting behind and trying to disturb my rhythm. The trials were easy, trust me,” he said.

Sandeep said he will try to recreate his training methods in Paris. “A lot of people asked me about pressure but I do not think like that. The only thing on my mind is recreating in the competition what I do in training. The rest will follow,” he said.