ISSF World Cup | Twins Udheyveer Sidhu and Vijayveer Sidhu win 25m Pistol team gold
18-year-old twins Udheyveer Sidhu and Vijayveer Sidhu borrowed pistols and won the team gold medal with Rajkanwar Singh in the 25 m Pistol junior men event at the ISSF World Cup. Coach D S Chandel believes their strength is their focus and winning national competitions have given them confidence.
Udheyveer Sidhu and Vijayveer Sidhu had first started practicing shooting at St Xavier’s School range in Mansa. The family later shifted their base to Sector 51 in Chandigarh in 2015, where they coached under Indian team shooting coach D S Chandel at the Panjab University Shooting Range. Since then, the twins have competed with and against each other at national competitions.
The Sidhu brothers on Tuesday however took it a notch higher as they won their first international gold medal at ISSF World Cup in Suhl, Germany. Udheyveer and Vijayveer borrowed pistols from their coach D S Chandel and team-mate Arjun Singh Cheema respectively to win gold in the 25m Pistol junior team event along with Rajkanwar Singh. Udeyveer also won bronze in singles 25m Pistol event. The twins who lost their father last year admitted that the medal meant a lot to them.Â
“We shot a world record score of 1747 to break the 24-year-old team record earlier held by Ukraine. It has come due to a team effort. While I missed the individual medal to Udheyveer, the medal has come to our home. We train together and share our knowledge. That is our biggest strength. We lost our father last year and this medal means a lot to us,” said younger brother Vijayveer while talking to Chandigarh Newline.
“I am happy that they won the team gold medal. When their father Gurpreet Singh Sidhu made them start shooting at Mansa in 2010, they would initially train with hired weapons. Later, he got them one 10 M pistol worth Rs 1,30,000 and the twins would practice with it In Suhl, Germany, Udheyveer shot with 25 M pistol given by their coach and Vijayveer shot with
While Udeyveer won gold in 10m Pistol event in the civilian junior men and the silver medal in youth men 10m in last year’s Senior National Shooting Championship, Vijayveer pipped Udheyveer to win the silver medal in 10m Air Pistol event in the first Khelo Indian Games held in Delhi.
Coach D S Chandel sounded delighted by their effort and believed that their strength has always been their focus and it is laurels at the national level that has helped them gain confidence and compete at the higher levels.
“Both the youngsters’ strength has been their focus. Udheyveer showed that in the rapid state today with a score of 293. Winning medals in last year’s nationals and this year’s Khelo India games gave them confidence and the junior World Cup was their first international medal,” said DS Chandel.