‘He Was My First Student….’: Sarabjot Singh’s Coach After Pupil’s Historic Paris Olympics 2024 Bronze Win

Coach Abhishek Rana praises Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh's historic Olympic bronze in 10M Air Pistol Mixed Team.

Paris: Following his pupil’s historic Paris Olympics medal win with Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh’s coach, Abhishek Rana, lauded the duo for showcasing great point-scoring and combination throughout the bronze medal match.

India’s shooting ace Manu Bhaker made history on Tuesday when she became the first Indian to win two medals at the same Olympics. Bhaker and her partner Sarabjot Singh secured bronze in the 10 M Air Pistol Mixed Team event. Earlier, Bhaker had won bronze in the women’s individual 10M air pistol event. Manu-Sarabjot beat South Korea’s Lee Wonho and Oh Ye Jin 16-10 in the bronze medal play-off match. With this medal, India’s medal tally increases to two in the Paris Olympics. Both Bhaker and Sarabjot shot consistently with regular 10s at the series against the Koreans.

Following the medal win, coach Abhishek told ANI. “There is nothing better (gurudakshina or reward for him as a coach). What Manu and Sarabjot did today, the way they scored their points, the combination they showed was really great. It was all amazing. The match was really good and I enjoyed it.”

Abhishek said that it is Sarabjot’s hard work, dedication and clarity towards his goals that have helped him accomplish this medal.

“He was my first student at my academy. We are enjoying this moment together since we started our journey together,” he added.

Abhishek also highlighted the value of keeping players in a balanced state of mind before a match and make sure they follow their processes.

“For athletes, you have to keep them normal and balanced, so that they do not feel too excited and focus on their process. The results will come later. If you do the process right, results will come,” he added.

Abhishek said that there is no greater feeling for him than to see his pupils climb up the podium and receive their medals.

Earlier on Monday, Manu-Sarabjot secured 580-20x points in total to finish third, The gold medal match will take place between Turkiye (582-18x) and Serbia (581-24x).

In the qualification round of the mixed team 10 m air pistol event, each member of a team got to shoot a total of 30 shots in a time span of 30 minutes. Each series of shots consists of 10 shots per player and 20 in total. The top four teams got the privilege of qualifying for medal rounds, with the top two teams playing for gold and the third and fourth-placed teams locking horns for bronze.

Manu-Sarabjot, sat at six with 193 points, with Manu getting 98 and Sarabjot getting 95. In their second series, Manu and Sarabjot secured a total of 195 points, with Manu getting 98 and Sarabjot getting 97.

In their third series, Manu-Sarabjot secured 192 points, with Manu getting 95 points and Sarabjot getting 97 points.

At the end of all three series, Manu-Sarabjot had the final score of 580-20x.