New Delhi: Zoravar Singh Sandhu felt ecstatic. The 48-year-old trap shooter had finally achieved an important career honour — a medal at the ISSF World Championship Shotgun — after two-and-a-half decades on the international circuit. That’s a lot of hours, days, and years.
Perseverance in every sense of the word. Zoravar’s first thought, however, was how he missed the targets to end up with bronze. He believes in keeping his emotion in check. All these years, he has learnt from every setback, with focus firmly on his next target.
“I was just thinking about how I could have done better,” says Zoravar. “I was happy, yes, and I got so many calls from friends and family members. There’s no place for emotions in my life. I have to keep working. I have this raw, obsessive drive, a passion. I have to do something for India and I don’t want to go just like that, you know,” Zoravar told HT.
To put the medal at last month’s Athens meet in context, it is only India’s sixth individual medal in shotgun at the world championships. The first was won by the late Karni Singh (silver in trap, 1962).
The passion for shooting in Sandhu remains strong, one of the reasons for his career longevity. His previous best individual performance was at the World Cup way back in 2007 when he won a bronze. A silver in the men’s team trap came in 2022. The years of drought didn’t make him doubt his ability or curse his stars. Now, competing against the younger lot, Zoravar has to fight for every inch to make it to the team.
“I can’t explain it. It’s like a fire inside. It’s a fire to do my process. There is a rigorous selection process, and even making it to the Indian team is a big thing. The competition at home is tougher than at the world level, considering the high average score you have to maintain in trials throughout the year. It makes the work even harder because you want to do well. The younger lot is so talented and they are pushing us. They are the future. I go out there just to perform to the best of my ability, not to beat them.
“Look at Mairaj (Ahmad Khan). He has achieved so much, but he’s also at it. So, it’s about what you want to achieve, what your goals are, what you desire. And if you dream of anything, the sky’s the limit. Talent only gets you to a certain extent,” says Zoravar.
The conditions in Athens were challenging, with shooters fighting rain to get their eye on targets. Zoravar, who qualified with an impressive score of 122 out of 125, secured bronze with a final score of 31.
All these years, he never thought of moving on when the chips were down. Sandhu’s training has become smarter.
“To be mentally fit, you have to be physically fit first. I don’t know about others, but I do a lot of shooting. It’s an outdoor sport and conditions play a big role. Cardio comes into play. We also do strength training. We have a very good coaching team in Peter Wilson (foreign coach), Anwer Sultan and Mansher Singh.
“Of course, my shooting changed in a big way because those things did not work then. You have to work smart. What I was shooting 15–20 years ago is very different now. At that time, I had the body, not the brain. Now that I have the brain, I have to take care of my body too. It’s like when you execute a plan and it didn’t work out you have reference points. You have to go back, and slowly you start building. Sometimes it takes time, and sometimes some people get it early.”
Sandhu also has to give equal time to his family.
“I have a beautiful wife and children. They have sacrificed a lot for my shooting. I have to give time to them. Nothing would have been possible without them.”
So, what exactly were his thoughts going into the world championships?
“I didn’t have any expectations. It was to try and put up a good score. Our coach Peter Wilson drew up an excellent plan, decided to go to Cyprus to acclimatize, and it gave us some matches. The execution was excellent.”
Sandhu has high hopes from the shotgun team.
“It’s just a matter of time before medals start coming at major events. In trap and skeet, the maturity of a shooter comes very late. Outdoor conditions like wind play a big role. There is already a good structure in place put together by the NRAI. There is a junior programme. It takes 10 years. It’s bound to happen,” says Sandhu, who is gearing up for the World Cup Finals in Doha in December.
