I’m my own challenger: Suruchi Phogat, the teen who owns a statement win over Manu Bhaker

One can well imagine what Suruchi Phogat must have felt when her father took her to a wrestling camp when she was 11. An ex-army man, Inder Singh was crazy about the sport and wanted his daughter to become a wrestler too.

But some six months into wrestling, Suruchi suffered a collar-bone injury and had to quit the sport.

Child-like innocence

Clearly, the little girl was not cut out for the hard and harsh world of wrestling. Talk to her for a few minutes, and a soft, child-like innocence stands out. Every sentence appears to end in a giggle. It is difficult to picture Suruchi gritting her teeth, grappling with or pinning down wrestlers with all her might.

So it’s likely that she felt a considerable sense of relief when Inder, worried that his daughter would suffer further injuries, pulled her out of wrestling.

“But my dad wanted me to do some sport. One day, my father and I entered a shooting range. And I was very interested to see shooters,” said Suruchi in a chat with The Hindu during the recent National Games in Dehradun.

Hooked to shooting at 14, Suruchi travelled almost 120 km every day between her home in Haryana’s Sasroli and Bhiwani, where she sharpened her skills in the new sport at the Guru Dronacharya Shooting Academy. The to-and-fro journey, by train, took over three hours and brought Suruchi rich rewards.

The 18-year-old is now among the country’s best air pistol shooters in a world that includes double Olympic bronze medallist Manu Bhaker, who, incidentally, trained at the same Bhiwani academy during her early years.

Suruchi, who won the women’s, junior and youth air pistol titles at the shooting Nationals in New Delhi in December, took the 10m air pistol gold at the Dehradun National Games, shocking Asian Games champion Palak Gulia and seasoned Olympian Rahi Sarnobat, the 2018 Asiad gold medallist. 

Suruchi made up for finishing with an empty bag at the previous edition of the National Games in Goa by winning another gold, pairing up with Parmod to claim the 10m air pistol mixed team title. With this performance, she emerged as the shooting star of the National Games.

Defeating India’s best

Manu Bhaker did not compete in the New Delhi Nationals and the National Games, but was back in competition at the recent National trials in Tughlakabad. And it was Suruchi (246.4 points) who prevailed, conquering a strong field in the first trial. She beat former World junior champion Sainyam (241.5) by a 4.9-point margin while Manu finished third. Suruchi had also topped the qualification earlier with a personal-best score of 586.

Suruchi suffered a rare defeat in the second trial, which was won by Meenu Pathak. But by taking second place, the 18-year-old finished higher than Esha Singh, who won four medals at the 2022 Asian Games, Sainyam, Manu and Rhythm Sangwan, another Olympian.

Suruchi’s arrival has created a buzz of excitement in Indian shooting. It has set up some very interesting battles between Manu and her, as the two prepare for this November’s World Championships in Cairo, next year’s Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya (Japan) and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The competition between the Olympic medallist and the young challenger could also be a great opportunity to market the sport in a bigger and better way. It has the potential to take shooting to a new high in India.

Suruchi’s coach Suresh Singh, who had earlier coached Manu for a period of two years, sees a lot in common between the two.

“Both Suruchi and Manu have the same confidence level, she could run Manu close [in competitions]. In fact, after the National Games, Manu called up and asked what I’m giving her,” revealed Suresh, who believes Suruchi is as good a talent as the double Olympic medallist.

“At the Paris Olympics, the qualification score was 582…Suruchi has been consistently scoring 585, that shows how good she is. Suruchi has been training with me for four years, Manu trained two years….the more competition exposure Suruchi gets, the better she will be.”

Incidentally Manu, from Goria village, and Suruchi, from Sasroli, hail from the same Jhajjar district in Haryana, with a little over 10 km separating the two houses.

Has Manu inspired Suruchi in any way?

“No,” said Suruchi. “My parents, my coach and myself are the inspiration.”

The young girl, who occasionally practises meditation, also gives the impression that she fears no one, that she is keen to chart her own course.

“Nobody is my challenger, I’m my own challenger,” said Suruchi, who is now in her first year of college.

“I don’t want to say anything about any shooter. I will perform good, will try to be better than before,” she said about her upcoming battles with Manu.

Olympic ambition

Shooting has been a very fruitful sport for India at the Olympics.

Abhinav Bindra, in the 10m air rifle, earned India its first Olympic gold in an individual event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After a very disappointing Tokyo Games in 2021, Indian shooters proved their worth in Paris, bringing home three bronze medals, with Manu creating history as the first Indian woman to win two medals at the same Games. In all, shooters have claimed seven medals for India at the Olympics.

And that is Suruchi’s dream too.

“I’m preparing for the Olympics and I think Los Angeles 2028 will be a big year for me,” she said.

Clearly, shooting promises to throw up many more interesting stories in the years to come.