My mother thought focusing on my education would have been smarter

20-year-old Raiza Dhillon will be making her debut at the Paris Olympics 2024. A very talented shooter who initially started with a rifle but later shifted to a shotgun, Dhillon will be one of the youngest athletes to look out for in the Indian contingent come July 26.

Her journey hasn’t been a smooth one with blockades in the road coming quite often, and at times from inside her family. Yet to complete her education, Raiza Dhillon will set foot in Paris and try to realize the dream everyone from her village visualizes.

Speaking to Sportskeeda in an exclusive interview, she said:

“Preparation is going well so far. We have been here in Italy for two weeks now and training here. Our chief coach and physiotherapist are also here. So the training sessions have been hectic but also productive.”

Although this is her debut at the showpiece event, Raiza Dhillon is not much under pressure. There are a lot of expectations like any other athlete, but she has set up a realistic goal for her. She mentioned:

“There is some amount of expectation that come to the athletes going to the Olympics. For me, I am just taking it as an opportunity to perform my best and focus on the process and working on my own goal rather than thinking of the expectations. I am making a realistic goal out of it so that it’s more achievable.”

Unlike other shooters in the contingent, Dhillon’s journey is a bit different. At a pretty tender age, she saw other members of the family use guns, but not for a professional sport. It was her father who introduced her to shooting, despite her mother demanding her to focus on her education rather than taking up sports.

“I come from a shooting-oriented background, not professionally but more from a hunting and passionate background regarding shooting. My parents introduced me to multiple sports but I always had an inclination towards shooting. My father introduced shooting to me in a fun way and then I eventually started rifle shooting for a few years and then I shifted to shotgun shooting in 2019.”

She added, “My mother thought focusing on my education would have been smarter. I had started shooting with very low expectation and a fun mentality. But I performed very well. So then she was like that I should get a chance and try my luck. Now she is very happy. She has told me that I can focus on my education later. She doesn’t regret the choices I have made in my life now.”

Raiza Dhillon speaks of her equipment

Unlike rifle shooting, shotgun shooting is expensive, with the monetary aspect being high. Not only does a shooter use a shotgun, but other equipment too that are equally important to shoot at the right target. Raiza Dhillon, sharing a bit about her equipment, said:

“Compared to rifle shooting, shotgun is a bit expensive. We use a weapon which costs around 7-8 Lakhs. Other than that we have a vest we wear to protect our shoulder and keep our ammunition. We have cap and glasses to adapt to the environment. Sometimes it’s too sunny or very cloudy so we have glasses for different weathers.”

Moreover, every athlete believes in some kind of superstition or has some pre-tournament rituals. Dhillon is no different as she revealed:

“I used to follow a ritual but I have given up now. I still have a photo of the Golden Temple right outside my house. Every time I used to go to a competition, I used to tap it.”

Raiza Dhillon is one of the debutant shooters in the extensive Indian contingent this year. India’s chances of securing more than seven medals is perhaps no more a dream, looking at the preparations of all the athletes across multiple sports. If Raiza Dhillon manages to win a medal, she will certainly become a source of inspiration for many in her village, just like DSP Harpreet Singh became to Anish Bhanwala after the 2010 Commonwealth Games.