Earlier, when Sarabjot Singh celebrated a good shooting event, he opted for a simple dessert and an unusual dinner out. That was a year ago, after his gold medal in the 10m individual air pistol at the World Cup in Bhopal. Sarabjot will again compete at the same facility and is confident of placing in the first two Olympic selection trials. On Saturday, he shot 584 shots to win the fourth qualifying round, which awards slots for the Paris Olympics (the NRAI selection committee decides on the teams after consultation). But that's no reason to be happy. "Celebrating such trivial things is pointless," he declared. "I only enjoy celebrating when I accomplish goals that I've really dreamed of." Which, for a man who likes fast cars and video games and visualises his shooting ambitions, means not only being in Paris, but being honoured there.

"I didn't think about this year's or today's Olympics." I mean the last eight years. I want to achieve this because, as they say, "the fire burns within." For Sarabjot (22), winning Olympic gold is more important than winning World Cup trophies. Though it may not be his first choice, the Ambal resident of Dheen Village has been the recipient of several other awards over the past few years. Sarabjot entered the senior ranks after winning gold at the 2019 World Junior Championships. In addition, she won silver in the mixed team and gold at the Asian Games last year, as well as bronze in the solo competition at the 2023 Asian Championships, which secured her a place in the Paris quota .

The medals boosted my self-confidence significantly. It also helps me realise the mistakes you made in those games and makes sure you don't make the same ones,” he said. “I think my biggest strength is how consistent I am.” He says his front fly of concentration is his other strength, which comes from his three-week tratak practice, a type of meditation where he places a candle at arm's length, sits in a dark room and for three minutes he focuses his eye on the flame and spends several minutes visualising the flame. 

The cycle is done four different times for a young man who enjoys the rush of speed, but Sarabjot admits that his passion is shooting and vehicles, respectively, he recently bought his family an SUV and soon intends to buy a Formula 1 (F1) sports car and rent vehicles at the Buddh International Circuit whenever he has free time. "Shauk hai speed ka. I had a strong passion for vehicles and racing from an early age. Sarabjot, whose mother is a housewife and her father is a farmer, states that the shooting happened later. Not all in his shooting career After the World Cup in Bhopal last year, Sarabjot he held out until he got to the point where he didn't participate in the World University Games or the French shooting team training camp.