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Ronjan Sodhi, who is a 2010 Asian Games gold medalist in double trap and a respected pistol coach currently, has heaped praise on shooting prodigy Zorawar Singh for his unmatchable talent on the range. Hailing from Punjab, the 15-year-old dreams of representing India someday in the prestigious Olympics.
Zorawar recently appeared in the national selection trials at the Karni Singh range. The young shooting sensation made headlines by securing his place in the six-shooter final While competing in a wide pool of 40 participants.
Although he narrowly missed the top three, Zorawar gave some tough competition to well-known players like Sheeraz Sheikh and Asian Games medallist Anantjeet Singh Naruka. Ronjan, immensely stunned by Zorawar's performance, was quoted as saying,
“He is probably one of the most talented kids I’ve come across in my shooting career."
Zorawar's best performance in Trial 1 saw him adding an impressive 121 out of 125. The pistol coach says he has not seen anyone in India with a similar score at such a young age.
“At the age of 15, I don’t remember anyone in India shooting such a high score. Very balanced as far as the mental aspect is concerned,” said Sodhi.
Sodhi asks the federation to train Zorawar Singh
Sodhi stressed the need for proper mentorship from the National Rifle Association of India to support Zorawar Singh, who does not have any coach now.
“The only thing, I would say, is that he has to be groomed well, and for grooming, he needs proper guidance. When we talk about talent search, the federation (National Rifle Association of India)... the talent is in front of them, so they must support him in whatever manner they can. He doesn’t have a coach at the moment.
Surprisingly, Zorawar Singh is not only a shooter but also devoted to pursuing academics. The youngster had announced he would take a gap to prepare for his board exams and continue his shooting passion after a short break.
Zorawar has great support from his parents, especially his father Mahinderjeet. They even withdrew him from boarding school so Zorawar could have better shooting infrastructure elsewhere.
Mahinderjeet is optimistic that his son will balance shooting and academics alike.
“I express my gratitude to Ronjan (pistol coach), Samaresh Jung and the shooting federation for my son’s exploits,” said Mahinderjeet.
The 15-year-old shooting sensation has also participated in three National championships prior to the selection trials. Meanwhile, Zorawar Singh is building his name in the sport and his family hopes to see him donning the national jersey at the Olympics soon.
