The two Haryana shooters won India's first shooting medal of these Games and only the second for India after the women's cricket gold medal. (Scny LIV screengrab)In 2023, when Kamaljeet was returning to his village Sulkha in an autorickshaw after training, it met with an accident killing two of the co-passengers. Kamaljeet suffered a thigh bone fracture.He was admitted to a private hospital in Gurgaon. To fix his femur bone, his family borrowed money from friends and relatives to pay the hospital bills. His father Ratiram works in a paint factory as a contract labourer so the going was tough despite the joint family owning 2 acres of farmland.FOLLOW LIVE: Asian Games 2026 Day 7Kamaljeet spent a month in hospital three years ago. On Friday, the 23-year-old Haryana shooter paired up with Suruchi Singh Phogat to win the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at the Aichi Prefectural Shooting Range. The two Haryana shooters won India’s first shooting medal of these Games and only the second for India after the women’s cricket gold medal.Back home his father Ratiram recalled the difficult period post the auto accident.“His thigh was injured badly and he was in pain. We spent Rs 4 lakh and took loans from relatives and friends for his treatment. He was fortunate because two people died in the accident. I thank god for saving Kamaljeet and for giving him the medal in the Asian Games,” Ratiram told The Indian Express.ALSO READ | India win second gold medal of Asian Games: Suruchi, Kamaljeet storm to mixed team titleBefore becoming a shooter, Kamaljeet was an athlete. His aim was to pass the physical test and join the Indian army. But because of an injury, he had to quit running. But track and field’s loss proved to be shooting’s gain. He became a havildar in the army via a sports quota thanks to his shooting.GOLD, WITH A RECORD TO MATCH! 磊Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet seal the gold for India with a new Asian Record of 484.6! 朗Watch the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 on Sony Sports Network TV channels & Sony LIV.#SonySportsNetwork #SonyLIV #AsianGames #AichiNagoya2026… pic.twitter.com/lvEtHemMAO— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) September 25, 2026In 2019 Kamaljeet’s interest in shooting began when his uncle Dinesh Sohlot took the then 15-year-old to an academy run by his friend Shaktipal. The coach took care of all the expenses, which was a big relief for the family. His uncle also took a loan to fund his shooting.Story continues below this ad“We stay in a joint family and own about two acres of land. Like other kids, Kamaljeet too dreamt of landing a job with the Indian Army to support the family. My friend and coach Shaktipal was impressed with his endurance and suggested that he should try shooting. Our first thought was that we cannot even afford basic things at home and how can he get into an expensive sport. But then Shaktipal and other friends and relatives would help us,” Sohlot said.It was not 2023 that the youngster broke into the Indian junior team. He won the team gold in 50m pistol event in ISSF World Cup in Changwon, where he finished seventh in individual final. It was followed by an 11th place finish in 50m pistol event in Junior World Championships at Baku, Azerbaijan the same year. The youngster would compete in the nationals the following year winning medals in different categories. Shaktipal says Kamaljeet’s will power is his biggest strength.“When he came to train, I knew that his family could not afford a pistol at that time. His body posture was good for pistol shooting and we initially made him practice dry shooting. He had a lot of patience and we worked on his trigger movement as well the shot management as well sighting. His natural elbow position was good for a pistol shooter and initially we would make him shoot 50-60 shots. He would never complain. He is mentally very strong,” coach Shaktipal said.The youngster used a second hand pistol worth Rs 1.5 lakh before getting his own pistol last year. Uncle Dinesh remembers how the youngster would train with bricks and dumbbells after coming from the academy to improve his strength and steadiness of the arm. “He did not have his own pistol and trained with the pistol used by other trainees at the academy, when he used to come back home, he would lift his elbow holding a brick or dumbbell to mimic the pistol position,” Sohlot said.Story continues below this adHe would win the silver in 50m pistol in the Asian Championships earlier this year before he made his way to the Asian Games. On Thursday, Kamaljeet had narrowly missed the final of the men’s 10m air pistol final. Coach Shaktipal too was following the qualification and knew that the heartbreak would not deter the youngsters. “He is a very calm person. He understands that such things happen in shooting and the only way to make a comeback is through believing in yourself as well as the training process.Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story ‘Harmans of Moga’, Nitin has also been a three-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively. His latest Laadli Award, in November 2025, came for an article on Deepthi Jeevanji, who won India’s first gold medal at the World Athletics Para Championship and was taunted for her unusual features as a child. Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women’s cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships. An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin’s interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... 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