Upset over her recent performances, a 17-year-old international-level shooter allegedly shot herself with her licensed pistol inside her residence in Faridkot, Punjab, India on Thursday, Dec. 9.
The deceased teen, identified as Khush Seerat Kaur Sandhu, was allegedly unhappy with her performance in the recently concluded 64th National Shooting Championship.
According to the police, on Thursday morning officers were dispatched to a residence in Faridkot’s Harinder Nagar after they received reports of a shooting.
The responding officers found the teen unresponsive with a single headshot wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
"She had shot herself with her .22 pistol and died of a headshot wound. According to the family, she was disappointed with her performance in the nationals held in Delhi earlier this week. We have handed the body to the family after autopsy and have launched the investigations. No suicide note has been recovered," Inspector Harjinder Singh, SHO of Faridkot City police station, said.
Faridkot Police has registered a case of unnatural death and is investigating the incident, the officer added.
Police said Sandhu had won multiple national medals in the past years but failed to bag any in the individual category in the National Shooting Championship held in Delhi this year.
Sandhu’s father, Jaswinder Singh, a government school teacher, said "her performance was not at par during this year’s nationals. However, she did not betray any visible signs of disappointment."
"Had she shared what she was going through with us, we could have counseled her," Singh told The Indian Express.
Sandhu started her sports career as a swimmer and won several medals at the national level. She switched to shooting four years ago.
In 2019, Sandhu bagged a total of 11 medals in individual and team events in the 25mm Pistol and 10mm Air Pistol events.
"She was a very good shooter and would also encourage other youngsters to opt for the sport. She would also talk about her desire to edge out Manu Bhaker one day to win the gold medal. It’s unfortunate to know that her story ended in such a tragic way," Harbans Singh, a neighbor of the family, told the news station.
Sandhu's shooting coach, Sukhraj Kaur described her as someone with "a willingness to learn".
"When we returned from Delhi after the nationals earlier this week, she was a bit sad. But we did not know she would take this tragic step. We invite sports psychologists twice a year to counsel our shooters. It’s tragic to see the loss of life of such a talented kid," Kaur said.
A similar incident was reported on Sept. 13, when national-level shotgun shooter, Namanveer Singh Brar shot himself at his residence in Mohali, Punjab, India.
"He was in the national squad and would have gone on to compete in the World Cups before the Tokyo Olympic Games had the events not got canceled because of the pandemic," National shotgun coach and top international marksman, Mansher Singh had said.
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
