Kamaljeet was elated after winning his maiden Asian Games gold medal alongside Suruchi in the Mixed 10m Air Pistol Team event. The Indian pair also broke the Games record during their impressive performance, adding another landmark achievement to their campaign. Speaking to The Free Press Journal after the triumph, Kamaljeet said the victory was particularly special as it was his first gold medal at the Asian Games.
“This is my first gold medal at the Asian Games, so I am extremely happy about it. The Asian record being broken is also a very good thing. But during the match, we didn't know anything about it. It wasn't as if we were thinking about breaking the record or discussing it among ourselves. Nothing like that happened during the match,” Kamaljeet said.
The shooter revealed that while they had a rough idea of the existing Asian record, he was not keeping track of the overall score during the event. Kamaljeet said he was focused only on his own shooting and did not even know Suruchi’s score or how she was performing during the competition. “We knew roughly what the record was, but I didn't even know what our score was at that point. I only knew my own score. I didn't know Suruchi's score either or how Suruchi was firing,” he said.
It was only after the match that the Indian duo realised they had not only won the gold medal but had also broken the Asian Games record. Kamaljeet admitted that discovering the achievement after the competition made the moment even more special, as the pair had remained focused purely on their individual performances rather than chasing a record.
For Kamaljeet, the gold medal also fulfilled a personal target he had set before travelling to the Asian Games. He had left home hoping to return with a medal and was proud that he managed to achieve exactly what he had set out to do. “It felt really good because I had left home thinking that I would return with a medal from the Asian Games. So, achieving what I had set out to do felt extremely good. I was feeling very proud,” he said.
