Asian Games 2026: From A 13-Year-Old On Local Trains To World Cup Gold, Jhajjar Girl Suruchi's Rise

New Delhi, Aug 26: Before Suruchi Inder Singh Phogat became a junior world record holder and a multiple ISSF World Cup gold medallist, she was a 13-year-old from Sasroli village in Haryana's Jhajjar district, travelling by local train with her father and brothers to a shooting academy in Bhiwani.

There was no Indian jersey, no international spotlight and, by her own admission, no sense that she was on the way to becoming one of India's leading pistol shooters.

Seven years later, the 20-year-old is heading to the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya with a World Cup gold medal and a growing reputation in the women's 10m air pistol event.

But Suruchi's story is less about an overnight rise and more about how a teenager gradually learned to master the part of shooting that cannot be seen on the scoreboard - her own mind.

'I didn't even have an Indian jersey'

"When I started shooting, nobody knew me. I was just a normal 13-year-old girl who didn't even have an Indian jersey. Today, wearing that jersey is something I'm genuinely proud of. For me, it represents how far I have come," Suruchi said.

The contrast between where she began and where she stands today captures the speed of her transformation.

Shooting itself was almost an accidental choice. Suruchi did not enter the sport with a carefully mapped-out career or the expectation of becoming an international athlete.

"I'm actually thankful that I came into shooting. If I had chosen another sport, especially a team sport, maybe I wouldn't have reached this far. Shooting gave me the chance to build something on my own, and I'm happy with where that has taken me," she said.

What began as a teenage introduction to the sport eventually became a profession built around precision, repetition and an unusual level of self-control.

The real competition is inside the shooter

To someone watching from outside, shooting can appear to be a sport of stillness - a competitor standing at a firing point, raising a pistol and pulling the trigger.

For Suruchi, that description misses the most difficult part.

"People look at shooting and think, 'What is so difficult? You just have to stand and shoot.' They don't see what is happening inside you. Controlling your thoughts, your breathing and your emotions while every shot matters, that is the real challenge."

That mental battle has become central to how she approaches competition.

Rather than allowing a poor result to define a tournament, Suruchi tries to treat every competition as feedback.

"A medal is not the only thing I take away from a competition. If I don't win, I look for the mistake. Maybe my technique was wrong, maybe something was missing. I find it, learn from it and come back better. That is how I improve."

That mindset has become particularly important as her level of competition has risen.

From learning the sport to winning on the world stage

Suruchi's progress has been reflected in a string of major international results. She ended the 2025 season with a junior world record at the ISSF World Cup Final in Doha.

In 2026, she continued that momentum, winning a mixed team silver with Samrat Rana at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship in New Delhi before producing one of the standout performances of her career at the ISSF World Cup in Munich.

There, she finished first in the women's 10m air pistol ahead of compatriot Esha Singh in a historic Indian one-two.

The Munich result also secured her a direct qualification spot for this year's World Cup Final in Rome.

The results have changed her status in Indian shooting. The teenager who once travelled to training without even an Indian jersey is now preparing for one of the biggest competitions of her young career.

The system behind the transformation

Suruchi is also quick to credit the support system around her.

For her, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has contributed to her development not simply through competition opportunities but through the daily structure required to become a high-level athlete.

"NRAI has given me much more than just the opportunity to compete. The coaches, camps have changed the way I train, prepare and understand my game. I have become a much more disciplined athlete because of that support," she said.

The biggest advantage, she believes, comes from the continuity of working with coaches who understand her as an athlete.

"The biggest advantage is that our coaches know us closely. They see us train, they understand our game and they know when something is not right. So when we reach a competition, they are not trying to understand us for the first time, they already know what we need."

For a sport in which tiny technical or psychological adjustments can determine the difference between a medal and a missed opportunity, that familiarity can be crucial.

Asian Games: The next test

The Asian Games will present Suruchi with another opportunity to measure herself against the best in the continent.

Yet she is deliberately avoiding putting too much emphasis on what the scoreboard might eventually say.

"At the Asian Games, I don't want to think about what the result will be. I just want to fight for every shot, give my 100 per cent and leave the range knowing I gave everything I had for that medal."

That approach is consistent with the philosophy that has carried her from a local train ride to the international podium.

The 20-year-old may now have world records, World Cup gold and an Indian jersey to her name, but the essence of her approach remains unchanged: control what can be controlled, learn from every shot and let the result follow.

For a shooter, perhaps that is the most important transformation of all.