Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 25 (ANI): Sports Authority of India (SAI) Deputy Director at NCOE Sigra in Varanasi, Shubhanshu Dwivedi, praised shooter Kamaljeet's efforts after the shooter won gold in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at the Asian Games 2026.
Dwivedi said that the shooter's accomplishment, which came just four months after the SAI centre in Varanasi became operational, was a historic moment.
"This is a really historic moment for us because our centre only recently became operational. Kamaljeet joined us back in July, and it's only been about four months since the centre opened. Winning a gold medal in a tournament like the Asian Games in just four months is a huge achievement," Dwivedi told ANI.
"There's no doubt it takes a lot of hard work from our centre and personally from him, as well as from so many other people. It's a really happy moment for us, and the atmosphere at our centre is just full of joy," he added.
Kamaljeet and Suruchi Inder Singh secured India’s second gold medal of the Games after finishing on 484.6 points in the final. South Korea won silver with 478.0 points, while Iran took bronze with 415.8 points.
The Indian pair also broke the Asian record of 481.3, which had been set by Uzbekistan earlier this year at the Asian Shooting Championships in New Delhi.
Dwivedi also highlighted the support system available to athletes at SAI centres, including sports science, nutrition, physiotherapy, psychology and biomechanics.
"Right now, SAI offers training at multiple levels. For grassroots training, there are Khelo India Centres in every district. Above that are SAI Training Centres, like the four in Uttar Pradesh, which provide intermediate-level training. At the top is the National Centre of Excellence, which offers elite-level training. For instance, you're currently standing at the SAI NCOE in Varanasi. So, we try to provide world-class training facilities at all these centres. Here, along with their sport-specific training, they get full support for sports science," he said.
"We try to arrange world-class boarding, lodging, and nutrition for them. For shooters in particular, we provide physiotherapists, which is really helpful for overuse injuries. We also have psychologists who reinforce their focus and commitment over time through regular testing. Then there's biomechanics and physiologists, who help balance their bodies. We're always working to improve their overall gait, centre of mass balance, and all those technical aspects," he added.
Dwivedi said Kamaljeet’s achievement would also motivate the other athletes training at the centre.
"This is a really, really big celebration for us. Once Kamaljeet gets back from Japan, we're planning to organise a grand welcome ceremony for him. The best part is that a lot of our athletes -- 138 so far -- have already joined us. It's a huge motivating factor for all of them to be around someone who brought home gold from the Asian Games. So I think across the entire centre, there's a completely different level of Determination towards the game will increase and motivation is definitely going to be high," Dwivedi concluded.
Suruchi and Kamaljeet led from the opening series, scoring 103 points before extending their advantage through the final. They eventually finished 6.6 points clear of South Korea.
Their winning total was also just four points short of the world record.
India’s medal tally stood at 19, comprising two gold, eight silver and nine bronze medals, at the time of writing. (ANI)
“It takes a lot of hard work”: SAI’s Shubhanshu Dwivedi hails Kamaljeet after Asian Games gold in 10m air pistol mixed team event
