Paris Olympics: No pressure, says shooter Arjun Singh Cheema

India's jumbo 21-member shooting contingent at the upcoming Paris Olympics will have to fire if the country’s dreams of breaching double figures in the medals tally are to be a reality. However, Arjun Singh Cheema, an Asian Games gold medalist in the 10m air pistol event and Olympics debutant, feels such high expectations should not invite any extra pressure on them.  

Despite the pre-event hype about Tokyo, India's shooters drew a blank, raising eyebrows. However, the 23-year-old from Punjab feels they should treat Paris like any other competition: ‘’From an athlete’s point of view, it would be just a competition for me. It’s not a question of pressure, but our duty to give of our best,’’ said Cheema, who will also partner Rhythm Sangwan in the mixed 10m air pistol event.

The Union ministry of sports & youth affairs, under its TOPS (target Olympic podium scheme), coughed up as much as Rs 62.42 crore for training and developing the shooting contingent for the Paris Games cycle, and expectations will naturally follow. It was Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore who secured the first podium finish for Indian shooters with a silver in Athens 2004, followed by Abhinav Bindra’s historic gold in Beijing, then Gagan Narang (bronze) and Vijay Kumar (silver) standing out in London 2012.

"We had a Zoom meeting with Bindra recently, where he spoke about the ideal preparations,’’ Cheema said during recent a virtual interaction facilitated by Sports Authority of India (SAI), the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).

“I have prepared myself well and will consider it as a regular match. The result is really important but along with that, what is needed is mental stability; the psychology of the athlete matters a lot so that better results can be achieved,” the sturdy shooter said.

Coming from a sports-loving family in Punjab, Cheema started as a swimmer and also dabbled in hockey and cricket. His grandfather, Balwinder Singh, had played football for the country while his uncle Jagwinder Singh Cheema holds an Asian junior powerlifting mark. ‘’My school in Sanawar had a good shooting range and that’s where I took the first steps.’’

Missing the cut for the Tokyo Olympics three years back taught him a lot of things, the principal takeaway being not to invite undue pressure. “I am not considering it as my first Olympics, just considering it is the next padhaav (stopover) on the way,” said Cheema.

“Last Olympics, it was a setback for me. I gave my 100 per cent but somehow things didn’t match up. Slowly I came back (from the disappointment). I am still working on some aspects and that learning will continue in future as well and the improvement is going to continue.”

Cheema, who is currently training in Austria with a batch of other Paris-bound shooters, explained the rationale behind them training abroad. ‘’The weather, sleep cycle and food habits here are akin to Paris and that’s way we are here,’’ he said, breaking down his daily routine to a media query.

‘’My day begins with an extensive round of yoga and meditation in the morning, breakfast and then shooting at the range for four to five hours at the range. Another session follows in the afternoon and then it’s time for mental recovery,’’ he revealed.

Asked about training in sync with Rhythm as they would be part of the Mixed Team event, Cheema said: “We are privileged to being guided under a very good framework under a very good constructed policy, which pays a lot of attention to every athlete’s mental fitness. The whole team is training together. For better coordination and teamwork, we are working hard.”