In 2015, six years into fencing as a sport from the “talwaarbaazi” it was largely identified to be again then, Karan Singh Gurjar was at a crossroads. The teenager from Alwar, Rajasthan, didn’t have sufficient funds to journey to Cape City for the junior Commonwealth Championships, which occurred to be his first worldwide occasion. He walked as much as his dad and mom and bought the idea of a medal, but fell wanting the cash from them at quick discover.
“We someway bought collectively the quantity, gathering from our well-wishers and associates. I went there, gained the person cadet silver on the primary day and junior gold on the second,” Gurjar recalled.
“After these sorts of struggles once you attain someplace, it feels good. You assume—kaha the, kaha aa gaye hai, aur aage kaha jaa sakte hai.”
Two years in the past, Gurjar was within the mid-200s of the worldwide federation’s senior rankings. Now, the 23-year-old is the world No. 63 as India’s fast-rising sabre fencer competing with the elite alongside Bhavani Devi.
He additionally joined Bhavani as the person sabre champion on the senior fencing nationals in Pune on Monday. Days earlier than, Gurjar defeated the Seventh-ranked French fencer Maximme Pianfetti within the World Cup Spherical of 64 in Italy the place he completed thirty second amongst over 200 rivals. Final month within the Poland World Cup, he was thirtieth. It’s been a big upswing from final yr the place, though he went previous 14th seed Mao Kokubo of Japan within the first spherical of the World Championships, Singh didn’t have a single top-50 present in World Cups.
“I have been doing properly this season to this point,” Gurjar stated. “If you beat the individuals who you see win medals, it helps you carry that confidence. It makes me consider that if I can compete with these guys, I can compete with anybody.”
This mindset was nearly alien to Gurjar earlier than the Tokyo Video games, which not solely proved a turning level for Bhavani and Indian fencing but in addition for the teen. By then, Gurjar had a person bronze on the senior Commonwealth Championships in 2018 to go together with constant success on the nationwide degree. However there was solely a lot he might do and to this point he might get staying and coaching in India, he would realise.
And so Gurjar adopted the footsteps of the path-breaking Bhavani, who’d been coaching in Italy earlier than shifting to France, and landed in Orleans at coach Christian Bauer’s academy in 2021. It helped that funds have been now not a significant fear; Gurjar is now underneath TOPS, can be supported by GoSports and is employed with the Navy. The transfer additionally ensured he competed in additional Grand Prixs and World Cups in Europe, engineering a push in his world rankings.
“Once I left India, my rating was 256. I made a decision that I have to exit, get my rankings up and start my very own quest to qualify for the subsequent Olympics,” he stated.
Among the many prime fencers coaching at Bauer’s academy contains Georgian Sandro Bazadze, the world No. 1 in sabre with whom Gurjar usually spars. “If you prepare with them, dwell with them, your motivation goes to a different degree. I felt that being there.”
The preliminary few months have been difficult, admits Gurjar, in not simply adjusting to the brand new tradition but in addition in “what the coach was attempting to make me do”. It mirrored in his underwhelming outcomes of final yr. “In my nearly decade of coaching in India, the strategies have been totally different. To vary it does take time. Par woh kehte hai na—der aaye durust aaye (higher late than by no means),” he stated.
Gurjar trains from 9am to 3pm on the academy in a single session involving health, talent coaching and bouts. Whereas the main focus is extra on technical nuances within the low season, sparring takes precedence round competitions. Having a well-recognized face round in Bhavani is a boon.
“The primary yr, particularly, she helped me quite a bit as a result of I used to be discovering it tough to regulate to life there. Every time I felt low, I’d converse to her. She would inform me, ‘It occurs, I’ve been dwelling exterior quite a bit too’. We converse quite a bit throughout coaching too being from the identical occasion,” he stated.
Gurjar stays alone in a rented flat, the one getaway from fencing being the occasional dinner outings with the group. “After all, I miss house, household, associates. However to meet desires, it’s important to sacrifice, get out of your consolation zone. And I consider in case your objectives are large, these items shouldn’t matter.”
Gurjar’s objectives are certainly large; the type the boy from Alwar didn’t even know existed when he picked up fencing. “The objective is to take part within the Olympics, after which finally attempt to win a medal. I assess my degree and set objectives accordingly—aisa nahi ki I wish to win an Olympic gold straightaway.”
Attending to the Paris Video games subsequent yr stays step one. The Asian Championships and the worlds this season are priorities within the path to qualification, aside from sustaining and attempting to enhance his rating. After which there’s additionally the Asian Video games later this yr. “That might be a giant occasion for me. I really feel I might end within the prime 4 there.”