16-year-old farmer's son Saurabh Chaudhary shoots gold in the Asian Games

Saurabh Chaudhary, 16, has bagged gold in 10m air pistol finals at the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. With this win, he becomes the fifth Indian shooter to win gold in the Asian Games. Another Indian shooter, 29-year-old Abhishek Verma, bagged a bronze medal.

Saurabh hails from a village called Kalina in Uttar Pradesh and is a Class 11 student. Saurabh started his training in shooting three years ago at Amit Sheron’s academy in Benoli, Uttar Pradesh. Despite his busy schedule, he would still make time to help his father, who is into the farming business, reports News18.

“I like farming. We don’t get much time off from training but whenever I do, I go back to my village (Kalina) and help my father,” Chaudhary told The Hindu.

At the Asian Games, Saurabh competed with 42-year-old Matsuda from Japan, who holds many world records and was also a noted player at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

Saurabh’s final score at the tournament was 240.7, whereas Matsuda misfired his 23rd shot and scored 8.9, taking his total tally to 239.7. Saurabh also has set a record in the Asian games by scoring 10.2 and 10.4, which is quite high, as 10.9 is the highest a shooter can get per shot in the 10m air pistol shooting event.

Saurabh competed against Matsuda from Japan and Jin Jong-oh from South Korea. Talking about the pressure he went through during the tournament, Saurabh told the First Post,

"I did not feel any pressure."

Saurabh also bagged gold at the ISSF (International Shooting Sports Federation) Junior World Cup held in Germany earlier this year. He scored a total of 243.7 in 10m air pistol event and broke the world record.

Saurabh’s calendar is already marked for 52nd ISAF World Championship taking place at Changwon, South Korea from August 31 to September 15 this year.

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