Suruchi Singh has added another major milestone to her fast-rising shooting career, winning gold in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at the 2026 Asian Games alongside Kamaljeet. The 20-year-old shooter helped India secure its second gold medal of the Games after the women’s cricket team had won the country’s first. Suruchi’s latest achievement carries an interesting connection to another of India’s biggest shooting names, Manu Bhaker. Suruchi grew up in Jhajjar, Haryana, the same town associated with Bhaker, trained at the same shooting academy and had the guidance of a coach who also trained Bhaker. The two shooters, however, have followed different paths at different stages of their careers. While Bhaker has already established herself as an Olympic medallist, Suruchi has emerged as one of India’s promising young shooters and is now making her mark on the Asian stage. From Jhajjar to the shooting range Suruchi’s journey into shooting began when she was around 13. Her father, Inder Singh, a retired Army havildar, had initially wanted his daughter to take up wrestling. His cousin Virender Singh, popularly known as Goonga Pehalwan, had won multiple Deaflympics gold medals and inspired the idea. Suruchi was not interested in wrestling. Her father then took her to Bhiwani, where she tried shooting and eventually enrolled at the Guru Dronacharya Shooting Academy. Live Events You Might Also Like: Before training in Bhiwani, Suruchi had also spent time at the Kargil Shooting Academy in Sasroli, close to her home. The range was run by Anil Jakhar, a Kargil war veteran and former Army marksman. Jakhar has said he trained Suruchi from a young age. He also had a connection with Bhaker, who had trained at the academy. That shared link gave Suruchi a connection to the same shooting ecosystem that had also helped Bhaker develop as a young shooter. Training continued during COVID The pandemic could have disrupted Suruchi’s progress, but her family found a way to keep her training going. You Might Also Like: When shooting academies were closed during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Suruchi continued practising at Jakhar’s range in Sasroli. The facility was close to her home, allowing her to continue training without travelling to Bhiwani. Her father has recalled how important the village range was during that period. Once the pandemic restrictions eased, Suruchi returned to Bhiwani and resumed training. She later began working closely with coach Suresh Singh at Guru Dronacharya Shooting Academy. Suresh focused heavily on discipline, match preparation and controlling her pace. Coach helped change her approach Suresh has recalled that Suruchi initially had a problem with controlling her shooting time. She could practise for long periods but struggled to finish competitions properly. The coach decided to keep her away from competitions for the first few months and focus on training instead. The process was gradual. After two months of training, she entered one competition. She then returned to practice before competing again. Suresh said the aim was to slowly get her comfortable with handling matches regularly rather than rushing her development. Suruchi was initially impatient with the approach. But the training eventually helped her improve her control and concentration. The coach has also described her as extremely determined during practice. If she set herself a target of 150 shots and the final shot was not a perfect 10, she would keep going until she achieved it. From national medals to world records The hard work began producing results at the national level. Suruchi won medals at the 2022 and 2023 Nationals before enjoying a breakthrough in 2024. She won seven gold medals at the Delhi Nationals and later added two more gold medals at the National Games in Uttarakhand. Her progress then moved to the international circuit. Suruchi won individual 10m air pistol gold medals at ISSF World Cup events in Peru and Argentina and also collected medals in mixed team events. At the ISSF World Cup Final in Doha, she produced one of the biggest performances of her young career. Suruchi scored 245.1 in the final to win gold and break the junior world record. The previous junior benchmark of 241.7 had been set by Bhaker in 2019. Now an Asian Games gold medallist Suruchi’s latest achievement has come at the Asian Games, where she teamed up with Kamaljeet in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. The Indian pair dominated the final from the beginning. They opened with 103.0 in the first series and continued extending their advantage through the next stages. India reached 424.9 after 18 shots and carried a seven-point lead into the final stage. Suruchi and Kamaljeet eventually finished with 484.6 points to secure gold, while South Korea took silver and Iran won bronze. For Suruchi, the medal adds another major achievement at just 20. Her story now connects several stages of Indian shooting, from a village shooting range in Jhajjar and training under a Kargil war veteran to the same academy associated with Manu Bhaker, national titles, World Cup victories and a junior world record. The Asian Games gold gives the young shooter another landmark to add to that journey. Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
Manu Bhaker’s hometown girl wins gold in shooting
Suruchi Singh has added another major milestone to her fast-rising shooting career, winning gold in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at the 2026 Asian Games alongside Kamaljeet. The 20-year-old shooter helped India secure its second gold medal of the Games after the women’s cricket team had won the country’s first. Suruchi’s latest achievement carries an interesting connection to another of India’s biggest shooting names, Manu Bhaker. Suruchi grew up in Jhajjar, Haryana, the same town associated with Bhaker, trained at the same shooting academy and had the guidance of a coach who also trained Bhaker. The two shooters, however, have followed different paths at different stages of their careers. While Bhaker has already established herself as an Olympic medallist, Suruchi has emerged as one of India’s promising young shooters and is now making her mark on the Asian stage. From Jhajjar to the shooting range Suruchi’s journey into shooting began when she was around 13. Her father, Inder Singh, a retired Army havildar, had initially wanted his daughter to take up wrestling. His cousin Virender Singh, popularly known as Goonga Pehalwan, had won multiple Deaflympics gold medals and inspired the idea. Suruchi was not interested in wrestling. Her father then took her to Bhiwani, where she tried shooting and eventually enrolled at the Guru Dronacharya Shooting Academy. Live Events You Might Also Like: Before training in Bhiwani, Suruchi had also spent time at the Kargil Shooting Academy in Sasroli, close to her home. The range was run by Anil Jakhar, a Kargil war veteran and former Army marksman. Jakhar has said he trained Suruchi from a young age. He also had a connection with Bhaker, who had trained at the academy. That shared link gave Suruchi a connection to the same shooting ecosystem that had also helped Bhaker develop as a young shooter. Training continued during COVID The pandemic could have disrupted Suruchi’s progress, but her family found a way to keep her training going. You Might Also Like: When shooting academies were closed during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Suruchi continued practising at Jakhar’s range in Sasroli. The facility was close to her home, allowing her to continue training without travelling to Bhiwani. Her father has recalled how important the village range was during that period. Once the pandemic restrictions eased, Suruchi returned to Bhiwani and resumed training. She later began working closely with coach Suresh Singh at Guru Dronacharya Shooting Academy. Suresh focused heavily on discipline, match preparation and controlling her pace. Coach helped change her approach Suresh has recalled that Suruchi initially had a problem with controlling her shooting time. She could practise for long periods but struggled to finish competitions properly. The coach decided to keep her away from competitions for the first few months and focus on training instead. The process was gradual. After two months of training, she entered one competition. She then returned to practice before competing again. Suresh said the aim was to slowly get her comfortable with handling matches regularly rather than rushing her development. Suruchi was initially impatient with the approach. But the training eventually helped her improve her control and concentration. The coach has also described her as extremely determined during practice. If she set herself a target of 150 shots and the final shot was not a perfect 10, she would keep going until she achieved it. From national medals to world records The hard work began producing results at the national level. Suruchi won medals at the 2022 and 2023 Nationals before enjoying a breakthrough in 2024. She won seven gold medals at the Delhi Nationals and later added two more gold medals at the National Games in Uttarakhand. Her progress then moved to the international circuit. Suruchi won individual 10m air pistol gold medals at ISSF World Cup events in Peru and Argentina and also collected medals in mixed team events. At the ISSF World Cup Final in Doha, she produced one of the biggest performances of her young career. Suruchi scored 245.1 in the final to win gold and break the junior world record. The previous junior benchmark of 241.7 had been set by Bhaker in 2019. Now an Asian Games gold medallist Suruchi’s latest achievement has come at the Asian Games, where she teamed up with Kamaljeet in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. The Indian pair dominated the final from the beginning. They opened with 103.0 in the first series and continued extending their advantage through the next stages. India reached 424.9 after 18 shots and carried a seven-point lead into the final stage. Suruchi and Kamaljeet eventually finished with 484.6 points to secure gold, while South Korea took silver and Iran won bronze. For Suruchi, the medal adds another major achievement at just 20. Her story now connects several stages of Indian shooting, from a village shooting range in Jhajjar and training under a Kargil war veteran to the same academy associated with Manu Bhaker, national titles, World Cup victories and a junior world record. The Asian Games gold gives the young shooter another landmark to add to that journey. Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
Read the full story at Economic Times.
