I still have fire in my belly, asserts veteran Zoravar Singh Sandhu after winning silver

Shooters get 12 seconds to fire a shot. While others pull the trigger after aiming for around 8 seconds, it takes only a couple seconds for the veteran shooter to execute his shot. It is a routine for Zoravar, 45, who has been shooting for over three decades now.

The Punjab shooter won silver in the men’s trap final against Jaipur youngster Vivaan Kapoor at the National Games Gujarat on Friday. Trust Zoravar to come up with a legit reason for his shooting style. “I used to be a skeet shooter, so I am used to shooting quickly.

I don’t think other shooters come under pressure. Vivaan didn’t,” he smiled. He doesn’t consider bad weather as a deterrent.

“There are no excuses. You cannot complain about these things as the conditions are the same for everyone,” Zorro, as he is called by fellow shooters, said. Zoravar is one of the few shooters who have made a switch from skeet to trap.

“I was introduced to shooting when I was five. I started shooting skeet when I was 11. I later switched to trap after my father and grandfather asked me to change the event for better prospects,” he said.

Although he has been shooting in domestic and international tournaments, his last big medal came in 2014 when he won gold at the Nationals in Patiala. The silver on Friday was special, but he humbly called it “a work in progress”. The Air India employee doesn’t mind the long gap between his two medals, but admitted that medals are important milestones for athletes to check their progress.

“It is important to keep winning, as that is how you can check your progress. Otherwise. you don’t have a reference point.