For Parinaaz Dhaliwal, the shooting range is more than a place where she trains. It is home. At the Moti Bagh Gun Club, a facility belonging to her royal family, she discovered a sport that would gradually transform from a childhood interest into a pursuit of national and international glory.

In the latest episode of Reliance Foundation’s Safar Champions Ka, Parinaaz Dhaliwal looks back at the journey that took her from discovering shooting at a young age to becoming a national champion, reflecting on the mentors, family and support system that shaped her ambitions and her dream of representing India at the Asian Games.

“This is honestly my home. This is where I started shooting,” Parinaaz says. “This is where I spend most of my day and this is where I live.”

Her journey began in Grade 7, when she first picked up a gun and started competing for her school. She initially tried trap, but after just two days, her mentor Amar Jang suggested that she give skeet a chance.

“Let’s just try skeet. Let’s just shoot one station and see,” Jang told her.

Parinaaz agreed, initially “just for fun.” But she immediately found skeet more engaging. “I found it a lot more interesting,” she recalls. By the next day, she had another gun, this time a skeet gun and a new direction in her sporting journey.

Her talent soon began translating into results. “I started shooting in grade 7 and I used to play for my school,” she says. She went on to win individual gold medals and set records at various competitions, with her school recognising her determination and commitment.

Her principal remembers witnessing that determination first-hand. Even while balancing training and competitions with academics, Parinaaz refused to let one take away from the other. “She did not sacrifice one for the other,” her principal recalls, explaining how Parinaaz and her teachers worked hard to cover portions of the syllabus she had missed.

One of the most emotional milestones came when Parinaaz became a national champion. Recalling the moment, a family member says they received a call announcing that she was about to win the title. “I literally had tears in my eyes at that very moment.”

Her family has also remained a source of encouragement throughout the journey, particularly during difficult performances. “I think I’m just motivating her always,” a family member says. “Don’t give up. It’s okay even if she doesn’t play well at times. I always tell her it’s okay.”

For Parinaaz herself, ambition was something that developed gradually. When she first started shooting, representing India or winning international medals was not necessarily the dream.

“It was never that, ‘Oh, I have to represent the country. Mujhe international khelna hai. Mujhe medals jeetna hai,’” she explains.

But every victory changed that. “As you just start winning things, you just start getting more and more motivated. Your vision becomes bigger.”

That expanding vision has now taken her towards the international stage. With Reliance coming on board, Parinaaz says the support has given her access to resources she had not previously received.

“This is the widest support that I’m getting from Reliance, which I never got before,” she says, highlighting the support she receives through physiotherapy and team management.

Now, the Asian Games represents another major milestone. Parinaaz has always wanted to reach the Games as the number one-ranked athlete, particularly because of the opportunity to compete in the mixed-team event and potentially add another medal.

“I always wanted to go to the Asian Games as a number one ranked athlete,” she says. “You get to shoot in the mixed team event and that’s another added bonus where you can win another medal.”

From trying trap for two days to discovering her calling in skeet, Parinaaz Dhaliwal’s journey has been shaped by curiosity, mentorship, family encouragement and an ambition that grew with every win. What began simply because she “enjoyed it” has evolved into a dream of competing at the biggest stages of Asian shooting.

“I’m super, super excited,” she says, with the Asian Games now firmly in sight.