Saurabh Chaudhary’s Secret to Winning Asian Games Gold in Shooting

Before the start of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, not many people knew Saurabh Chaudhary. However, the young lad has surprised everyone by winning Gold Medal at the 2018 Asian Games in 10 m air pistol event. Saurabh Chaudhary has also created an Asian Games record by scoring 240.7 points, which is more than that of 2010 World Champion Tomoyuki Matsuda.

Saurabh Chaudhary is just 16 years of age and winning an Asian Games gold is a great achievement for him and the entire country. It is also an inspiration for youngsters who can now seriously think about pursuing a career in shooting. Saurabh was born in Meerut and he has been practicing shooting since the last three years. He had earlier participated in ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, where he created a Junior’s record of 243.7 points.

Saurabh’s secret to winning the Gold Medal at 2018 Asian Games

Apart from his tremendous focus and dedication to the sport of shooting, Saurabh’s success is also attributable to the intensive training he received at a rifle club in Baghpat, named Veer Shahmal Rifle Club. A graffiti on the walls of this club reads “Our aim is Olympics”, which clearly demonstrates that the club owners are targeting the highest recognition in the world. With Saurabh winning the Asian Games gold, he is all set to try for Gold in the next Olympics.

The secret to Saurabh’s success is his specialized training at the rifle club. Some homegrown training techniques have been utilized, which may appear unprofessional. However, these homegrown techniques have proved very useful and the gold medal is a proof of their effectiveness. One of the key techniques involves hanging a brick from the wrists of the shooters. This helps them to build the muscles that are needed for a steady hand while shooting. It also helps develop a good grip on the pistol. Another technique involvespracticing shooting movements in a dark room, which helps develop an increased sense of balance and also improves the posture.

The rifle club was started by Amit Sheoran in 2011, and it had humble beginnings with just a single air pistol and one air rifle. Now, with Saurabh winning the Gold, things are likely to change for this rifle club. Sheoran will now be focusing on getting an Olympic Gold Medal, which has been his lifelong dream. The rifle club has also produced other medal winners such as Deependra Singh, who won gold medal in men’s 10m air pistol event at the Para Shooting World Cup in Bangkok in 2017. Sheoran believes that ultimately it’s the hard work and dedication that determines success or failure.