Story of Raiza Dhillon – India’s Only Female Skeet Shooter With Olympics Quota

Growing up among guns, Raiza Dhillon's love for shooting was innate. The love has now earned her an #Olympics quota.

Unlike business, shooting does not run in the blood. But like charity, it often begins at home. Rhythm Sangwan shared with The Quint how her father’s job with the Haryana Police helped her get acquainted with guns, whilst Varun Tomar told us that his inspiration emanated from his cousin, fellow shooter Saurabh Chaudhary.

Raiza Dhillon – the 19-year-old shooter from Chandigarh – shares similitude with the aforementioned pair. Like Varun and Rhythm, she too has earned a 2024 Paris Olympics quota, being the first-ever Indian female shooter to have earned a quota in skeet, and the only one to do so thus far for the upcoming edition. Barring that, the inception of her shooting journey was ‘triggered’ – pun, of course, was intentional – by her family. Except, the circumstances were incredibly dissimilar.

Her family members were not working in law enforcement, but in aspects more than one, the Dhillon family was the law in Shamgarh – a village in Haryana’s Karnal district. Raiza’s grandfather was the chairman of the Zila Parishad (district council). Her mother – Gul Dhillon – is the village Sarpanch (head).

Growing up Among Guns

Beyond everything else, the Dhillon household housed twenty guns – most of them used for trophy hunting. Raiza wanted to try one out, and try she did.

Speaking with The Quint, she explains why:

The hunting culture in our house piqued my interest in guns, because I would see so many guns around the house that my father and grandfather used for hunting. Although I was totally against trophy hunting – I still am – I wanted to try out the guns.

Raiza Dhillon

Ravijit Dhillon, her father, had instantaneously subscribed to the proposition, but his wife did not.

My mother wanted me to try any sport except shooting. She was into multiple sports like tennis and swimming, but I did not like any of those. I was always inclined towards shooting. I had toy guns that I would shoot at empty cans and bottles on our farm. That’s how I started my shooting journey.

Raiza Dhillon

Finding the Right Mentor

Once Ravijit Dhillon was assured his daughter had the requisite talent in shooting, and not only a penchant, the next step was to find her a competent coach, which he did in Amrinder Singh Cheema. 

A four-time national medallist with eight international competitions on his résumé, and an Olympics aspirant himself even at the age of 44, Amrinder used to practice at the same range Ravijit frequented – Motibagh Gun Club in Patiala. He narrates how the journey started:

I have been friends with Raiza’s dad for a long time. At the range we used to go to – the Motibagh Gun Club in Patiala – we would see plenty of boys, but barely any girls. It was a disappointing sight. So when Ravijit told me that Raiza was interested in shooting, I was eager to take her under my wing.

Amrinder Singh Cheema, Raiza Dhillon's coach

Bigger the Gun, More the Fun

A four-hour round trip from Panchkula to Patiala did not enervate a twelve-year Raiza, who first practised with the air rifle, which Amrinder says was a strategic decision to ensure she masters the ‘basics’ of shooting.

But in less than a year, she was done with the small gun, and wanted something bigger – the shotgun. Whilst females with a shotgun are not a rare sight at the national level, the scenario was contrasting in Patiala.

It was a bit intimidating when I first got into shotgun, because the circuit was mostly dominated by boys. I could hardly find any girls doing what I did. It was only when I got to the national level that I found out there are many girls like me in shotgun, from different parts of the country. It was comforting to know I was not alone.

Raiza Dhillon

Bullets That Burned Holes, But in the Pocket

Despite Raiza being on an upward climb in her shooting career, having won gold medals for both Haryana and the North Zone, support did not arrive from any quarter, with her father being her only sponsor.

“Shotgun is a very expensive niche to pursue. The gun costs Rs 10 lakh, the shooting gear comes for around Rs 1.50 lakh, while you need to spend around Rs 9 lakh every year on cartridges,” informs Amrinder.

Ravijit explains how he never paid any heed to the expenses, notwithstanding how daunting they were.

It was very expensive, of course, but when a child does well, a parent does not really worry much about the money. I saw Raiza doing brilliantly in shooting, so I knew she had the talent and could make it big if she got the support. It was only right to support her aspirations, irrespective of how much it cost me.

Ravijit Dhillon, Raiza Dhillon's father

Sharing her version, Raiza says “Trust me, I often thought of quitting the sport, just so that my dad doesn’t have to spend so much money. But he always told me not to worry about the financial aspect, as long as I liked what I was doing.”

A year and a half ago, she was inducted into the Sports Authority of India's (SAI) National Centre of Excellence, thereby alleviating the financial stress.

COVID Curbing the Growth Curve

The first few years of Raiza’s shooting career did not encounter any major obstacles, until COVID-19 curbed her growth.

Recollecting an incident which left the then 16-year-old devastated, Amrinder says “There was supposed to be a tournament in Bhopal, for which Raiza worked really hard. She was very confident of winning a medal. But just when we reached Bhopal, we were told lockdown has been implemented and the competition was called off.”

Kuwait Gold Compensates for Asian Games Miss

Another calamity struck soon. Amrinder’s three-year contract with the Dhillons had ended, and with him being unavailable, Raiza started training under Italy’s legendary Olympic gold medallist, Ennio Falco.

Albeit, wavelengths did not match, adaptability to new coaching methods was not very swift, and ultimately, she missed out on an Asian Games slot, before returning to Amrinder.

Not qualifying for the Asian Games was upsetting, but I will not say it was disheartening. I think it was a very important learning curve in my career, because I managed to turn that disappointment into positive energy and worked hard for Kuwait. The rest, as they say, is history.

Raiza Dhillon

By history, she means a gold medal at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers held in Kuwait earlier this month, which secured her the Olympics quota. Currently, she is also ranked number one among Indians in women’s skeet.

Focus on Having Fun, and Medals Will Arrive

Despite earning a quota, a ticket to Paris is not confirmed yet, for Raiza will have to participate in two trials organised by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). Whilst Amrinder is ‘110% confident' of seeing Raiza at the Olympics, expectations have not been placed on her shoulders, with the focus being on having fun instead of winning medals.

Since I started shooting just to have fun, I have never had huge expectations from myself. Of course, it will be lovely to be at the Olympics, but I have two trials coming up and I can’t go there thinking that my quota will take me to Paris anyway. I want to go back to my coach and work on my flaws. After that, I’ll go to the trials just to give my best and have fun, and we’ll see what happens.

Raiza Dhillon

Amrinder, meanwhile, signs off with a fervent appeal “I have been a professional shooter for 23 years, but even today, I struggle for support. The only reason to start coaching was to support my career. I earnestly request people to support us. We know India has the talent to bring Olympics glory in shotgun. But if no one is ready to support us today, we will not be able to compete with the best nations tomorrow.”