Samardeep Singh Gill makes statement by beating Tajinderpal to gold at Inter-State Championships
“He is the future; talk to him.”
This was what Asian Games gold medallist Tajinderpal Singh Toor had to say after the men’s shot put final of the 64th Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships on Saturday.
His remark was directed at Samardeep Singh Gill of Madhya Pradesh after he managed to get the better of Toor with a personal best effort of 19.82m.
Despite multiple events happening at the same time at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, spectators and fellow athletes thronged the portion where the shot put final was taking place.
Such was the intensity of the competition. Samardeep touched the 19.82m mark with just his second attempt, and that was enough to seal the first place for him. “I did my personal best today, and I’m happy about it,” he said nonchalantly with a smile.
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On top of clinching the gold medal, Samardeep’s icing-on-the-cake moment was perhaps the fact that he beat someone of Toor’s stature with the latter being among his biggest inspiration in the sport.
“He’s a senior, and I do respect him. I think he had some issues due to an injury he suffered earlier. Maybe that’s why he wasn’t able to perform at his best,” Samardeep said.
“The fact that he’s appreciating me makes me really happy. He’s been an inspiration for me, and the whole of India is proud of him. So, I’ll definitely cherish this moment,” he added.
After the event finished, Toor and Samardeep requested the officials for a measuring tape. The officials, who were in a hurry to pack up, reluctantly agreed to it.
Turned out, one of Samardeep’s four foul throws was a 20m-plus attempt. “That was my fourth throw. I just wanted to check the measurement, and he helped me talk to the officials. It was a minor foul, but it’s okay,” Samardeep said.
Moving away from the ‘Indian’ mindset
One look at Samardeep’s body structure would suggest he was destined to take up a sport like shot put. He is taller than Toor at 6’5” and weighs 145kg. He has an identical build to Toor and also sports a similar beard.
However, his ambitions were elsewhere initially. He wanted to take up cricket.
As most Indian kids growing up, Samardeep, too, once dreamt of representing their country, either holding a bat or running at the batter with a ball.
“I was into cricket at first. But my father’s friend, who is in the Railways, told him that he will make me fit. I joined him just to keep myself fit. After seeing my build, he just handed me the shot and asked me to throw it. I loved doing it, and that’s how the switch happened,” he said.
Aiming for the stars
Samardeep came into the Inter-State championships on the back of a gold medal-winning performance at the National Federation Senior Athletics Championships in Kochi in April.
That was the first time that Samardeep managed to get the better of Toor. He qualified for the Asian Athletics Championships as well. His best attempt there was a 19.34m.
From there to the event in Chennai is an almost 50cm leap, and Samardeep believes the improvement is because of his coach, Sandeep Singh, who helped him with his technique.
“When he first came to me, he was pretty raw. His technique was flawed, and that was the first thing that we worked on. We also strengthened his basics,” said Sandeep, who has been tutoring Samardeep since the start of 2021.
“Now we’re just focused on participating in as many competitions as possible. I believe the more you are active, the more you can achieve. He will definitely participate in the National Open next month,” he added.
However, Samardeep is not looking to settle down anytime soon. Despite reaching his personal best throw, he strives to go further.
“I don’t think I achieved what I came here for. Even though this is my personal best, I hoped for more. I wanted to go for 20-plus. But I’ll keep working. In the future, when I’m representing India somewhere, I will make the country proud,” he concluded.
Published on Aug 24, 2025