From ‘all is over’ to Asian Games gold: Suruchi Inder Singh’s amazing turnaround in 48 hours

Suruchi Singh, right, and Kamaljeet celebrate after winning the gold medal. (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI: “Bass dabaya maine reset button,” said Suruchi Inder Singh after turning her disappointment into an Asian Games gold medal for India in two days. Suruchi and her teammate Kamaljeet won gold in the 10m air pistol mixed team event on Friday, finishing top at the Aichi General Shooting Range.Suruchi, who was among the top medal contenders in the individual event, suffered a disappointment just two days ago.The shooter, who won four individual gold medals from the 2025 World Championships in Buenos Aires, Munich, Lima and Doha, including the World Cup final, failed to qualify for the final of the individual 10m air pistol event.She finished in 26th place in the field of 55 shooters with a score of 568-12x.Despondency was all over her face. She took off her shooting glasses, holstered her pistol, shook hands with the trainer and support staff, and quietly left the Aichi General Shooting Gallery.Suruchi had dominated her individual performances for nearly two years and knew the expectations were high. But they all collapsed within an hour. Her silence spoke volumes.Suruchi was shaken by the performance. But she knew she had another chance.On Friday, Suruchi returned, aimed and delivered an amazing turn. Not only did she win the gold for India, she also combined with Kamaljeet to score a Games and Asian record 484.6 to finish on top of the podium.When asked how the 20-year-old managed to turn things around in 48 hours, Suruchi said she had to hit the “reset button”. She spoke with her mother, met with her trainer and spent time reflecting on what had happened.The message she kept repeating to herself was simple: “It’s okay, it’s done.”“I would say that maybe it just wasn’t my day during the individual event. Or maybe I faced a technical problem that I didn’t understand and that prevented me from recovering. I had to hit the reset button because I had another competition in two days. And I couldn’t do it alone. I talked to my coach and my parents and being with them helped me get my mind in the right place,” Suruchi said.“As soon as my match was over, I was like, ‘It’s OK, it’s done.’ After that, my mother called and helped me get back into the right frame of mind. I had lunch and spent some time at the range. But towards evening I started to feel bad again. After the disappointing match, I didn’t feel like eating anything, nor did I feel like talking to anyone,” said the pistol shooter.“I felt like it was over for me at the Games. I didn’t have another match left. It felt like everything was over. Once that match was over, I felt like there was nothing left,” she said.

Kamaljeet gets a second chance

Suruchi was not the only one to suffer disappointment in the individual competition. Kamaljeet also had a tough outing in the men’s 10m air pistol event. He finished ninth in Thursday’s qualifying, just one point short of the final.He feared his maiden Asian Games campaign would end without a medal.“I was very sad. I was depressed because I felt I would have to leave my first Asian Games without a medal,” he said.But Kamaljeet got another opportunity when he was brought into the mixed team action in place of Kedarlinga Balakrishna Uchaganve.“Samresh sir told me that there was a change in the 10m mixed team event and I was brought in instead of Kedarling. I was happy when I got the news. I had one more chance to win the elusive Asian Games medal,” he said.Grabbing the opportunity with both hands, Kamaljeet teamed up with Suruchi to create a record breaking performance.“I am always ready to shoot. I like such challenges every day,” said Kamaljeet.