‘Virat Kohli inspires me’: Himanshu Dhillon’s dream Asian Games debut with two silvers

India’s Rudrankksh Patil, left, wins the bronze medal and Himanshu Dhillon wins the silver medal (PTI Photo) Himanshu Dhillon is a die-hard fan of Sunny Deol. His father, Shamsher Dhillon, has a doctorate in agriculture. Thus, Sagittarius’ motivational mantra paraphrases the famous dialogue of his idol, his father’s profession and farming, which he tried during the pandemic.“This is the farmer’s hand. It melts iron and shapes it.”On Monday, Dhillon didn’t melt metal; instead, he shot two of them, both silver, with an air rifle at 10m at a range in Aichi Prefecture.First, the Asian Games debutant teamed up with Rudranksh Patil and Parth Man to secure the men’s team silver. He returned later in the afternoon and, in a pulsating display of composure, concentration and precision, finished second (252.4) in the singles to open his individual ranking at senior international level.Patil, who held a 1.5-point lead at one stage, faltered and settled for bronze (230.9).Reigning Olympic and Asian Games champion Lihao Sheng (254.2) climbed to the top of the podium. The Chinese marksman improved his mark of 253.3 from the previous games.Dhillon’s father sends him daily motivational messages. That day, his 21st birthday wish came first, followed by a message: “Whatever happens, you must add a medal for India. The color of the medal depends on you.”The message in his native language seemed to strike a chord. While Patil struck forward, Sheng and Dhillon played catch-up. 10.2 and 9.7 Patil came down. Dhillon was also pegged at 9.8, giving the Chinese an unassailable lead, but his three 10.9s did the trick.It was a battle of subtle differences, with four 10.9s in the elimination series and three shootouts deciding the placings.From match to shootDhillon’s journey is only just beginning, but the junior World Cup gold medalist already has a glimpse of the legacy he would like. In shooting, he adores Abhinav Bindra. However, his sporting hero is Virat Kohli.“I am very inspired by Virat Kohli,” he said.As he left with two silver medals around his neck, the significance of the day was not lost on him.“This is the best birthday present I could have given myself,” he said.But he didn’t start out as a shooter. Inspired by his uncle Hardeep Singh Dhillon, who represented India in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2016 Rio Olympics, his father enrolled him in the akhada. It only took two weeks for him to realize that wrestling wasn’t for him.“I found the match a bit tough, so later I decided to shoot while studying at Gurukul in Kudri,” he said with a laugh.Once he found his vocation at the range, his family supported him despite financial constraints.“My parents left our village because of me. It’s their sacrifices that got me here,” he said.