Lt Col (Retd) Jagir Singh Dhillon cremated with full military honours

It was on August 11, 2008, that his trainee Abhinav Bindra won the gold in the men’s 10m air rifle final in the Beijing Olympics. It was an emotional high for the coach, who would celebrate the gold medal with Bindra’s parents Apjit Singh Bindra and Babli Bindra at their Zirakpur residence. (Special Arrangement)

Born in 1934 at Sur Singh village near Khemkaran in Punjab, Dhillon had joined the Indian Army’s Corps of EME at Secunderabad in 1953. Within months of joining, Singh started competing in shooting and would compete in nationals from 1953 to 2004 winning more than 200 medals in air rifle and rifle events and also competed in 1970 and 1978 Asian Games apart from one Commonwealth Shooting Championships.

During his time, a young Dhillon would also be the room-mate of Indian athletics legend Milkha Singh and it was in 1989 that Dhillon started coaching young athletes at his Chandigarh residence after his retirement from the Indian Army. Dhillon’s association with Abhinav Bindra began on July 13, 1995 with Bindra first writing a letter to the coach to train him. For the next three decades, Dhillon would see Bindra rise in the shooting world. “He has trained more than 37,000 hours with me since he first came to me. I remember that our first tournament was a district meet in Ropar in 1995. In August 1996, Abhinav Bindra shot a perfect score of 600/600 in a tournament in Chandigarh and he showed the signs of his dedication and talent at a very young age. One of Abhinav’s main strengths is his calmness,” Dhillon had told The Indian Express in 2016.

Over the years, many shooters would train under the coach. Paris Olympics fourth-place finisher and ISSF World Cup medallist Arjun Babuta too started shooting under Dhillon in 2011. (Express Photo by Jasbir Malhi)

It was on August 11, 2008, that his trainee Abhinav Bindra won the gold in the men’s 10m air rifle final in the Beijing Olympics. It was an emotional high for the coach, who would celebrate the gold medal with Bindra’s parents Apjit Singh Bindra and Babli Bindra at their Zirakpur residence. “During Abhinav’s younger days, my father would show Abhinav his shooting medals and Abhinav would be fascinated by seeing the medals and would ask, ‘Sir I can also win the medals?’ And my father would only tell him that if he works hard and remains disciplined, he can win an Olympic medal too. Abhinav was always eager to do good and he was so much focussed that sometimes, he would be disappointed as a junior when he would miss an inner ten. My father was very patient and would advise him that he can only do better by being calm and analyse why this mistake has happened. And when Abhinav won the Olympic gold, my father reminded Abhinav of all the hard work and journey. When Abhinav became a good national-level shooter, my father let him go and advised him to find international coaches and to train in better facilities to sharpen his skills,” said Dhillon junior.

Over the years, many shooters would train under the coach. Paris Olympics fourth-place finisher and ISSF World Cup medallist Arjun Babuta too started shooting under Dhillon in 2011 and remembers the coach as one who shaped him as a shooter as well as a person. “The first lesson J S Dhillon sir taught me was discipline. He was content with his personality and would tell me to practise hard and to maintain the hunger for excellence always. He would show me Abhinav Bindra Sir’s score sheets and once when I won the school nationals gold with a new national record, he would give me one jacket of Abhinav sir and would tell me, ‘ You are the next Abhinav.’ His words remain with me and inspire me every day to give my best. He had a strong belief in his trainees and taught us to believe in ourselves,” said Babuta.