Karnataka Farmer’s Son Kedarling Uchaganve Selected to Represent India in Shooting at 2026 Asian Games

New Delhi: Naib Subedar Kedarling Balakrishna Uchaganve, a 27-year-old soldier from Karnataka’s farming community, has earned selection to represent India in shooting at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan — a journey made more striking by the fact that he had never even fired a pistol before joining the Indian Army in 2018.

Serving with the 27 Madras Regiment, Uchaganve entered the Army with the familiar hopes of many young men from rural India: steady employment, the ability to support his family and the chance to serve the country. Shooting was not part of his original ambition. Before the Army, his sporting exposure was limited to district-level running events, including the 1500 metres, and his only real awareness of pistol shooting came from hearing about Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra during his school and college years.

His entry into the sport happened almost by accident. During the Army’s talent identification process at a shooting range, he was introduced to pistol shooting for the first time. “I did not know much about shooting before joining the Army... When I joined the Army in 2018, I discovered that there was a shooting range and that talent was being identified. I was selected, and that was when I really came to know about shooting,” Uchaganve said. That selection process was also the first time he handled a pistol.

What began as a chance exposure gradually turned into a serious sporting pursuit. With repeated contact with competitions, senior shooters, coaches and motivational programmes, his understanding of the discipline changed. He came to see that shooting could offer him both a career in uniform and the possibility of representing India. Unlike outdoor sports, pistol shooting appealed to him for its indoor setting and the intense mental demands it places on an athlete. “I liked that it is an indoor sport and there are no external factors like running. You have to control yourself and focus on your grouping. I started enjoying it,” he said.

The Army played a central role in that transformation. It provided his first pistol, access to coaches, sports medicine support and nutrition staff. As he progressed, he moved from shared equipment to an individual weapon and later bought a spare pistol of his own. He has also benefited from support from the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and sponsors, which helped him attend competitions, training camps and international events.

Behind the sporting rise is a family still rooted in agriculture. Uchaganve comes from a joint family dependent on farming, and his parents continue to work on the land. The costs of equipment and ammunition have been a challenge, and he has had to balance his sporting career with the need to help the family whenever possible. His daily routine reflects the mental discipline required by the sport: he begins the day with meditation, focusing on breathing and staying in the present. For him, the key is to follow training faithfully and allow results to come naturally.

Uchaganve has already tested himself at the senior World Cup level in 2022, and Asian Games selection is his biggest achievement so far. He is, however, already looking further ahead, with an Olympic medal at the Los Angeles Games his long-term aim. His family, while not deeply familiar with the technical side of international shooting, is said to be proud of his chance to compete abroad. “They are very happy that their son is going to another country for a competition... They just tell me to do well, take care of myself and have faith in God,” he said.

He says he does not feel burdened by expectations from his village, his unit or the country, preferring instead to stay focused on the task in front of him. With the 2026 Asian Games scheduled for September–October next year, Uchaganve’s rise from a Karnataka village to India’s shooting team highlights how institutional backing, especially from the armed forces, can uncover and develop sporting talent from unexpected places.