‘My parents never let me quit’: Kamaljeet gears up for maiden Asian G…

New Delhi [India], August 8 (ANI): An injury on the athletics track ended one dream, but his passion for sport led him straight to the shooting range. Rewari’s Kamaljeet turned to pistol shooting in 2019 and has since established himself as one of India’s leading shooters.

The 22-year-old is set to represent India at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with shooting events scheduled from September 17 to October 3 at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery, according to a press release from NRAI. piekny-pies.pl

Reflecting on his early struggles and the sacrifices made by his family, Kamaljeet said, “We are a middle-class family, but my parents never let me quit shooting. I had to manage my own expenses for course fees and matches early on, and there were times I thought I wouldn’t continue in the event. It took me two to three years to earn that money back, but my family never asked questions; they gave me whatever I needed to keep going."

Transitioning from track and field to shooting required a strong support network back home in Haryana, led by a tight-knit coaching relationship.

“I have only one shooting coach who taught me everything from scratch. He is from my village, so our relationship feels like family. Between my coach and my uncle at home, I’ve had the strongest foundation throughout this journey," he said.

With consistent performances on the domestic circuit, financial strain gave way to institutional backing through the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). Kamaljeet highlighted how NRAI’s transparent selection process and technical support provided the platform he needed to break into the national squad.

“Earlier, I used to struggle a lot just to manage basic expenses, but having sponsorship and support from SAI took a huge weight off my shoulders. Once I could focus purely on my sport, the pathway became very clear because of how transparent NRAI’s selection process is."

“My place in the national squad came strictly on merit, based on the ranking points I accumulated across the ranking events. When you know the system is entirely performance-driven and every point you earn counts, it gives you complete confidence to just step onto the lane and shoot your best without any second thoughts."

“On top of that, NRAI provides us with top-quality equipment and ammunition, the exact same standard we use in international competitions. That takes away any worry about our gear on the global stage so we can stay fully focused on performance."

Building on his gold medal in the 50m Pistol Men Junior event at the 2023 ISSF Junior World Championships and a recent silver at the Asian Championships in New Delhi, Kamaljeet views his recent World Cup exposure as a vital stepping stone for the Asian Games.

“The World Cup was a valuable learning experience. While my performance wasn’t exactly what I wanted, it motivated me to refine my preparation. This will be my first Asian Games, and having gained international match exposure, I feel much more confident entering the range in Japan."

Looking back on his transition from an injured athlete to an Asian Games-bound shooter, Kamaljeet added, “Earlier, I used to shoot good scores only in practice, but now I have the belief that I can deliver the same performance under match pressure. One lesson has stayed with me through every phase: if it doesn’t happen the way you wanted, it will happen in a better way than you imagined."

At the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, Kamaljeet will represent India in the Men’s 10M Air Pistol event, competing in his marquee individual discipline on the continental stage. (ANI)

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Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], August 8 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has assured India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant of all possible assistance after the cricketer sought the state government’s help in acquiring land to build a home and shift his base from Delhi to his native Uttarakhand.

Responding to Pant’s post on X, Dhami described the cricketer as the pride of the state and said the matter had been referred to the concerned officials.

“Dear Rishabh, you are the pride of Uttarakhand. With your splendid performance and achievements, you have illuminated the name of Devbhoomi in the country and the world. Your love for your motherland and your sentiment of returning here to contribute are highly commendable. Regarding the matter you have raised, instructions are being issued to the concerned officials. They will soon contact you and ensure all possible cooperation in accordance with the rules," Dhami wrote.

Pant had earlier appealed to the Chief Minister on X, saying he had been trying for nearly three years to acquire land in Uttarakhand and wanted to return to his native state and contribute to its development.

“@pushkardhami hello sir how’s you ??? It’s a long time for me especially being local from Uttrakhand. I have been trying to buy land to shift my base from Delhi to Uttrakhand and I couldn’t find anything facilitating and big to live here I love my Uttrakhand. My humble request to us is please help me in land acquisition cause nowadays it had become nitemare with clarity and even other land is dew which was I supposedly get when I was promoting the state before keeping everything in side I wanna move back to my native place to help and built around Uttrakhand and I want to shift back to my Pahadi people please look into this matter it’s been 3 years didn’t get any land awaiting your answer @pushkardhami sir," Pant wrote.

He followed it up with another post, saying he was willing to purchase the land from the government at official rates.

“A gift would be lovey for representation outs states at the highest level internationally stages but if you allow me I wanna buy it from Government and on there rates at least I can have my first house built in my own state and our state please be helpful. Seriously didn’t know how to do it," Pant said.

The 28-year-old Pant, who hails from Uttarakhand, currently represents Delhi in domestic cricket and remains a key member of India’s Test setup. He is presently part of the India A squad playing a three-day unofficial Test against Sri Lanka Cricket XI in Colombo ahead of India’s two-Test series against Sri Lanka, beginning in Galle on August 15.

Pant has scored 3,557 runs in 50 Tests at an average of 43.37, including eight centuries and 19 fifties. He has also accumulated 871 runs in 31 ODIs and 1,209 runs in 76 T20Is.

In the IPL, Pant recently returned to Delhi Capitals after being traded by Lucknow Super Giants. He had joined LSG for a record Rs 27 crore but will now represent Delhi Capitals at a revised fee of Rs 15 crore, while spinner Kuldeep Yadav moved in the opposite direction to Lucknow at his existing fee of Rs 13.50 crore.

Pant also recently became the highest individual taxpayer from Uttarakhand, reportedly paying Rs 23.84 crore in taxes for the 2025-26 financial year. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

Australia international Phoebe Litchfield broke Shafali Verma’s record for fastest half-century in Women’s Hundred history. Representing Sunrisers Leeds, Phoebe smacked a 20-ball half-century, helping her team register a comfortable nine-wicket win at Edgbaston. With that, she also surpassed Shafali’s feat, smacking a 22-ball half-century in the match between Birmingham Phoenix and Welsh Fire in 2021.

Ashish Yadav won a silver in the men’s javelin throw event to open India’s medal account on the third day of the World Athletics U20 Championships here.

Yadav’s third round throw of 74.09m fetched him the silver medal while T Dharanidharan, the other Indian in the fray in the men’s javelin throw finals, finished sixth with 72.35m.

The 19-year-old Yadav became the second Indian, after two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, to win a silver in the event.

Chopra had won gold and set the still-standing world junior record of 86.48m in the 2016 edition in Poland.

The gold medal went to South Africa’s Jan-Hendrik Heymans who sent his spear to 80.50m, the season’s U20 world lead, in his sixth and final attempt.