Vijayveer Sidhu: A prodigy primed for stardom

When Vijayveer Sidhu claimed a silver medal at the Asian Shooting Championships 2024 held in Jakarta, Indonesia, his ticket to the Paris Olympics in the Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol discipline was well and truly earned.

Sidhu, who accidentally discovered the sport as a kid, took it seriously with the encouragement of his parents. With the support of his twin brother Udhayveer Sidhu, the siblings have been brothers in arms, winning shooting medals for India.

Finding his mark rather early

Vijayveer and Udhayveer, became intrigued with shooting when they were 8 years old at a school camp at St.Xavier’s School in Mansa, Punjab.

Vijayveer was fascinated by the gun range at the school and called his brother to join him. Since then, they have been hooked to the sport. Seeing their sons excel in the junior circuit, the twins’ parents moved to Chandigarh for better facilities.

Loss of a loved one

Vijayveer lost his father, Gurpreet Singh Sidhu, shortly after moving to Chandigarh due to a sudden illness.

The loss was a significant blow to Vijayveer and his brother as their father had been a chief motivator in both sports and life in general.

However their dream run in shooting never ended, thanks to their mother, Rani Kaur, who worked as a government school teacher at the very school where the siblings studied.

Shooting with borrowed pistols

Vijayveer, who picked up the pistol, was equally proficient in shooting with both the air pistol and rapid-fire pistol.

Over time, he specialized in the latter, which became his shooting discipline.

He was part of the team that won the gold medal in the 25m air pistol event at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Cup in Suhl.

Interestingly, Vijayveer had borrowed his teammate and fellow Olympian Arjun Singh Cheema’s pistol to help his team win the competition.

The rise of a star

Vijayveer quickly rose through the ranks and won medals at various events thus establishing himself as a rising shooting star.

His achievements include:

ISSF Junior World Cup

• Gold medal (2018, Suhl, 25m Standard Pistol Men Junior)
  

World Championships

• Gold medal (2022, Lima, 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Mixed Team Junior)
  
• Bronze medal (2022, Cairo, 25m Standard Pistol Men)
• Gold medal (2021, Lima, 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Team Men Junior)
• Gold medal (2021, Lima, 25m Standard Pistol Men Junior)
• Gold medal (2018, Changwon, 25m Standard Pistol Men Junior)

World Cup

• Silver medal (2022, Changwon, 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Team Men)
  
• Gold medal (2021, New Delhi, 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Mixed Team)
• Silver medal (2021, New Delhi, 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Team Men)
• Silver medal (2021, New Delhi, 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men)

ISSF Junior Cup

• Gold medal (2022, Suhl, 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Team Men Junior)
  
• Gold medal (2022, Suhl, 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Mixed Team Junior)
• Bronze medal (2022, Suhl, 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men Junior)

Asian Championships

• Silver medal (2024, Jakarta, 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men)
  
• Bronze medal (2019, Taoyuan, 10m Air Pistol Men Junior)

Gunning for a medal

Having done exceptionally well in the recently concluded Rapid Fire Cup in Suhl, Germany, Vijayveer Sidhu has amassed numerous medals in ISSF events, joining other Indians who excel in the sport.

However, the Olympics remains the one arena where Indians have yet to achieve a rich haul of medals.

Vijayveer has already solidified his position as one of India’s finest shooting prodigies to represent the country at the Olympics.

But an Olympic medal would elevate him into the ranks of the elite on a world stage.