'No Christmas for me': National champ at 31, Gurjoat has just begun | Exclusive
Thirty-one-year-old skeet shooter Gurjoat Singh Khangura won his maiden national title at the 68th National Shooting Shotgun Championship in Delhi, capping a year of technical changes and setbacks. Calling it just the beginning, Gurjoat sees the gold as a boost toward international selection, Asian Games goals and World Cup medals, stressing discipline, maturity and India’s rising skeet standards.
Gurjoat Siingh Khangura (Special arrangements)
NEW DELHI: “Gurjoat ka matlab hai Guru ki Jyot, the light of God,” said Gurjoat Siingh Khangura, his voice still carrying the absolute warmth and undeniable pride of a newly crowned national champion.As he finished explaining his name’s literal meaning, a short pause and a quiet laugh followed. After all, the light, for him, has just begun to glow brighter.
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Less than a fortnight ago, the 31-year-old shooter stood atop the podium at the 68th National Shooting Shotgun Championship at New Delhi’s Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range. Hanging around his neck was a gold medal in the men’s skeet event.It was his first National title, a long-awaited one after years of competing against some of the country’s finest shotgun shooters.Yet, if one expected celebrations or time off, Gurjoat is quick to dismiss the idea. Call him on Christmas afternoon, and the reply is blunt: “It’s not Christmas. There is no Christmas for me. I was literally out of the shooting range when you called me.”For Gurjoat, the range remains home, even during the festive season.Why the Nationals mattered so muchIn Indian shooting, Nationals are more than just another competition. “Nationals are very important for me because this is the first competition.
Basically, it happens at the end of the year, and the national score is counted as the base score for the next year,” he told TimesofIndia.com from Patiala during an exclusive conversation.“For the team to be selected, whoever will represent India internationally in World Cups, Asian Games and everything, Nationals are the most important competition of the year.”
Gurjoat Siingh Khangura (Special arrangements)
As it goes in the shooting circuit, winning gold here does not just bring recognition.
It sets the tone for selection trials, international opportunities and confidence heading into the new cycle.That context makes Gurjoat’s triumph even more significant. The field included Olympians, world record holders and seasoned international shooters.“Most of the players I played with are nine-time national champions, two-time Olympians, World Cup medallists,” he added. “So defeating them and winning the Nationals is basically like winning any tournament against international players.”A year of resurrectionIronically, the national title came at the end of a year that tested Gurjoat in every possible way. The 2025 season followed the Olympic cycle, and for Gurjoat, it was a year of experimentation. “It was a non-Olympic year, so it was the best time to try and test everything,” he explained.Early in the year, he represented India at World Cups in Argentina and Peru, where results did not go according to plan.“I had trained very well, but things didn’t work out. I fell very sick and had a back injury in Peru.
