"They say, 'You used to play in my lap', I never knew them" - Sarabjot Singh on how life changed after winning the Olympic medal

There is an old saying — 'Success has many fathers, but failure has none.' Olympic medalist Sarabjot Singh has experienced it firsthand.

On the sidelines of the selection trials for the national squad, held at Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range last week, Sarabjot opened up about how his life changed after winning the bronze medal at Paris 2024. Speaking to All India Radio (Akashvani), he talked about distant relatives, who now avow that they watched him grow from close quarters, and the 'sukoon' (peace and satisfaction) he experienced after attaining glory at the biggest stage.

"I am happy that I have done something for India. But even that sukoon was short-lived." he said, "I came back into the field because I feel I want to do it again. I want to do something for India. I will try to work double hard this time."

Sarabjot couldn't help but chuckle when asked if any far-flung relatives had suddenly emerged, claiming that they always shared a special bond with him.

"A lot of relatives. 'We were this, we were that'. But I never knew any of them." he said, "This thing happens. They never even called earlier. But once you get the medal, it's all 'hehe, haha'."

"It feels good, it is a fun moment too. Never met them before, now we are meeting as if we know each other really well. They tell me, 'You were quite young, you used to play in my lap.'" said Sarabjot, his words punctuated with giggles.

Apart from that, he said not much has changed — more so due to his conscious effort of stay grounded.

"Change in life depends on me. The more normal I keep myself, the better it is for me. I try to keep myself down to earth because my family is from a village and they always tell me, “Kabhi hawa mein mat aayo” (Don’t let the success get to your head.) The more grounded you stay, better it is. That is what I follow." said Sarabjot.

"Manu has to give her best and I have to give my 100%" - Sarabjot Singh reveals what was on his mind heading into the final at Paris Olympics

Sarabjot Singh won the bronze medal in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event, where he was paired with Manu Bhaker. A couple of days before that, he had missed out on qualifying for the final of the Men's individual event by a whisker. Sarabjot was tied on points with Germany's Robin Walter, but the latter progressed by virtue of having hit more 10s.

In the same conversation with All India Radio, the Indian shooter described what was going through his mind just before the final that eventually saw him secure a podium finish.

"Before the finals, this is what I had on my mind — I had written a few things in my diary about how to go about my match in the individual event. But things did not go how I wanted. I had then written the same things before my mixed team match — that I have to give my best and nothing else. Manu has to give her best and I have to give my 100%. That’s it. This is what I went into the finals with. I had no pressure of anything else. The only pressure I had was that I have to do something for India." he said.

"Apart from that, I was telling myself to ‘follow-through’. There is a part of shooting called ‘follow-through’. So I had to ensure that there was a follow-through of 3 to 4 seconds and that is exactly what I did. My shots were going fine for a good while. Some shots went far. But the last shot was good and that brought India the medal." he added.

In shooting, follow-through is a fundamental process of maintaing your form and position after pressing the trigger.

The highest possible score per shot in 10m Air Pistol is 10.9. Sarabjot hit a 10.2 with his final shot that helped him and Bhaker secure the medal. Relive the moment here.