“I’m proud of going to the Olympics” - Pistol shooter Vijayveer Sidhu after confirming his spot for Paris Olympics 2024
Vijayveer Sidhu, the 21-year-old pistol shooter from Chandigarh, has confirmed his spot for the Paris Olympics 2024. He managed the feat following his excellent performance in the Olympic Selection Trials in Delhi and Bhopal.
As the countdown for the mega event in Paris has already started, Vijayveer is not putting a lot of pressure on himself. He loves to travel with his friends and keeps their pictures as his mobile wallpaper. In turn, his friends put up pictures of Vijay shooting aboard with the Indian contingent.
“I’m proud of going to the Olympics but it’s not the biggest deal for me. It’s a part of my life but it’s not my life. My friends will be my friends whether or not I win a medal. But one thing they’ll expect from me is to take pictures and share it with them,” Vijayveer Sidhu told Sportstar.
“It’s normal for us to put each other’s pictures on our phone screens. I found that pictures of Leh give me a lot of peace. Recently, I was testing the barrel of my pistol in Germany and I clicked (photos from the German countryside) and posted them in our friend’s group,” he added.
However, the ace shooter doesn’t think he needs to put Olympic rings up in front. He strongly feels it needs to be inside his heart rather than as the wallpaper.
“It’s not as if the Olympics don’t mean anything to me. I think if something is very important to you, it needs to be inside your heart,” he stated.
Vijayveer Sidhu was exceptional in the Olympic Selection Trials
Vijayveer secured his place for the Paris Olympics 2024 alongside Anish Bhanwal in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol after the end of the qualification round of the fourth and the final OST at MP Shooting Academy in Bhopal by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).
According to the selection policy designed by the NRAI, the average of Vijayveer’s three best scores from the qualification rounds turned out to be higher than his fellow compatriot and nearest competitor Bhavesh Shekhawat.
While the two shooters looked impressive and were neck-to-neck in all four qualification rounds, Vijayveer Sidhu had won the Olympic quota for India at the Asian Championships earlier this year, and his two bonus points as a quota winner helped him to advance to the quadrennial event in Paris.
Across the four trials, Vijaveer consistently achieved exceptional scores with solid precision. Although he fell below the 580 benchmark in the first qualification round, Vijayveer looked poised to achieve big in other rounds.