National Games: Suruchi Phogat’s wrestling stint ended early, she is now shooting for the stars in 10m air pol | Sport-others News

Wrestler Virender Singh, better known as goonga pehelwan and India’s Deaflympics hero, inspired Inder Singh Phogat. So much so that when Inder’s daughter Suruchi was born a year after Virender won a gold medal at the 2005 Melbourne Deaflympics, he set his mind on making her a wrestler. The champion lived down the road. Inder and Virender’s homes were less than a kilometer apart in Sasroli village, Jhajjar. 11, Suruchi joined a local wrestling academy, spurred on Virender’s second medal. But tragedy struck a year later when Suruchi broke her shoulder bone. The fracture took nearly a year to heal fully. And wrestling’s loss became shooting’s gain. At the MPSC Shooting range on Wednesday at the National Games, 18-year-old Suruchi lived up to her rating as one to watch out for winning the 10m air pol gold medal. It was a Haryana 1-2 on the podium with 2022 Asian Games gold medal Palak Gulia winning the silver – Suruchi with a final score of 245.7 and Palak 243.6. Punjab’s Simranpreet Kaur Brar (218.8) won the bronze, while Paris Olympian Rhythm Sangwan was off the podium.
Being in the limelight in double Olympic medal Manu Bhaker’s pet event is both a challenge and an opportunity, Suruchi said. There’s anticipation of Manu and Suruchi in the same field at the domestic trials that begin later this week in New Delhi, if the Olympic bronze medall makes an appearance.
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Suruchi’s progress captured the imagination when she won a hat-trick of individual medals at the National shooting championship in New Delhi in December. Gold medals in the women, junior and youth categories. “The medals at the National championships were a boost of confidence. I am pleased to continue with my good form,” Suruchi said. “I didn’t think twice when switching from wrestling to shooting. All I wanted was to be a sportsperson and win medals.”
A grand welcome, organised the village elders when she returned to Sasroli after December’s nationals gave Suruchi her brush with mini-stardom. In her second-choice sport, she’s starting to come of age.
When Suruchi broke her shoulder, Inder, because of the severity of the injury, felt returning to the mat would be a high-risk move. “There was a chance of the shoulder getting injured again. She wanted to play a sport. Shooting seemed the sensible choice. Today my son, Nishant, 15, is also a shooter. When Suruchi was born, I was fascinated Virender pehelwan’s achievements so wanted her to become a wrestler. Shooting has been rewarding,” Inder said.
14, Suruchi had enrolled at the Guru Dronacharya Shooting Academy in Bhiwani, 60 km from her home. The up-and-down train journey took three hours. First, a 2 km walk to Jharli station, then train, followed an e-rickshaw ride. It’s a journey the father and daughter undertake even today, seven days a week.Story continues below this ad
“I retired when she took up shooting and travelling with my daughter is my full-time job,” Inder said. When in the army, Inder was posted in J&K and was part of anti-militant operations but his heart rate goes up when his daughter is competing. “That was a different life. This is different. There I was giving my all for the country, now it is for my children.”
To fund her shooting dreams, Inder had used his army pension money and also took the help of well-wishers. Since September, the Olympic Gold Quest has signed up Suruchi. “They take care of weapon-related expenses, pellets, and travel,” Inder said.
There is another army connection and a Manu Bhaker link. Suresh Singh, a retired army coach, runs the Guru Dronacharya Shooting Academy, Suruchi’s training base. “Manu Bhaker trained at my academy for two years in her early days. Initially, I had a manual system (paper target), now it is all electronic. There has been a renewed interest in shooting since the Paris Olympics,” Suresh said. After the medal ceremony, Suruchi got her father and coach, pillars of her shooting career, to pose beside her with the medal.
Coach Suresh thinks an Olympic medal and a high-quality domestic field of shooters makes the women’s 10m air pol event one of the most competitive. “Suruchi has started off well. Bigger tests are awaited. She will be ready for it. The competition will keep her motivated,” Suresh said. Story continues below this ad
Suruchi has set Los Angeles 2028 as her big target. She has an Olympic pin in her possession, given to her a foreign competitor at a junior world cup. With dreams of an Olympic medal, Suruchi is proving she’s inching her way to the big league, one shot at a time.