Who is Arjun Cheema? All you need to know about the Indian shooter taking part in Paris 2024 Olympics
With the Paris 2024 Olympics starting on July 26, Indian pistol shooter Arjun Cheema is one of those among the shooting contingent who will look to make a name for themselves at the Olympic Games.
23-year-old Cheema is one of the 18 players from Punjab in the Indian contingent at the Paris 2024 Olympics. He will compete in the men’s 10m air pistol event along with Asian Games gold medalist teammate Sarabjot Singh. He will also compete in the 10m air pistol mixed team event with fellow Olympic debutant Rhythm Sangwan.
Now in Paris, after some terrific performances in the trial competitions, Cheema will look to make his family and nation proud by securing a podium finish at his first Olympics appearance.
Arjun Cheema’s career
Arjun Singh Cheema was born into a family of some sporting repute. His grandfather was a national-level footballer, while his uncle was a junior-level Asian record-holding powerlifter. Arjun’s sights, however, were set on swimming, and he represented India in the 2014 Junior Swimming Championship in Austria.
However, in his own words, he “fell in love with shooting” soon after, and switched to the sports which would take him to the Paris 2024 Olympics. After picking up the 10m air pistol, he trained under national coach Jaspal Rana and Indian junior team coach Satguru Das.
Arjun Cheema tasted his first international success after being a part of the Indian team that won gold medals in the ISSF Junior World Cups in Suhl and Sydney. Soon after, the 17-year-old solidified his credentials as one of India’s rising pistol shooting talents after winning two gold medals in the junior men’s 50m pistol event at the ISSF World Championships in South Korea.
Cheema faced disappointment after narrowly missing his qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. However, he slowly improved his game and bounced back in style by winning a gold medal in the 10m air pistol team event at the 2022 Asian Games along with Sarabjot Singh and Shiva Narwal. The trio also proved their mettle by winning the same event at the 2023 ISSF World Shooting Championships in Baku.
Now, after a successful Olympic selection trial where he ranked first ahead of Ravinder Singh and Varun Tomar.
Now in the French capital, along with the 21-member shooting contingent of India, Arjun Cheema will look to give his all and make his Olympic debut a memorable one.
The shooting events at this year's Summer Olympics are scheduled to start on July 27.