Dahola village in Jind district erupted in celebration on Monday as its 20-year-old boy Himanshu Dhillon, on his birthday, clinched two silver medals in the men’s 10m air rifle event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, turning years of struggle, sacrifices and financial uncertainty by his farmer family into a moment of collective pride.
A road show will be organised in the village to honour the shooter and celebrate his achievement with the entire community. “We will give him a warm welcome. A grand roadshow will be organised when he returns. Himanshu’s success has brought a reason to smile for every family here. “When we started, we did not know where this would lead.
The sacrifices eventually began yielding results when Himanshu won gold in the men’s 10m air rifle at the 2025 ISSF Junior World Cup in New Delhi and followed it with gold medals in the junior men’s 10m air rifle and mixed team events at the 2026 Asian Rifle/Pistol Championships in New Delhi. Because of financial limitations, we controlled our expenses and had to take our younger son away from shooting and make him focus on his studies.
Himanshu’s father, Shamsher Dhillon, said the family was now preparing to give him a grand welcome when he returns home. This is not only our family’s achievement but the achievement of the entire village,” Shamsher said. Himanshu’s aunt Kiran said his victory had given the entire village a reason to smile. We will celebrate his achievement in a big way and give him a memorable welcome,” she said. But we invested in Himanshu and never allowed financial difficulties to come in the way of his sport,” Shamsher said.
“The whole village is happy today.
Coach Kuldeep Nehra of Nehra Shooting Club in Kaithal recognised his potential and encouraged him to pursue the sport seriously. Shamsher borrowed money from friends to purchase the rifle, saying shooting was an expensive sport and the family could not afford to support both sons in the discipline.
