'Accidental' shooter on course to Paris Oly

He calls himself an accidental shooter. If anything, Sarabjot Singh’s life resembles that of blackjack, a game of chance. Shooting is no doubt a game of skills but until he started, it was not even part of his lexicon.

- INDRANEEL DAS

The 22-year-old had no inkling about the sport until the Summer of 2016 when he was 16. His friends joined a Summer Camp in school and he was tempted to follow them. Until then, Sarabjot was dabbling with football. In fact, sport was not a meaningful pursuit for him. “Some of my friends joined shooting and I wanted to join them,” he told his daily after topping the Olympic Shooting Trial (T4 qualification round) at the MP Shooting Academy here on Saturday. With the day’s outcome, he has virtually sealed a Paris berth in the men’s 10m air pistol category.

Sarabjot’s father, a farmer in a village (Dhin) near Ambala, did not agree with the son and naturally said no. But fortunately for Sarabjot, the school chairman encouraged him to join shooting. “That changed my life,” he said.