Ace shooter Fateh Singh was among the three brave hearts who laid down their lives for the country while fighting the terrorists at the Pathankot air base.
The 51-year-old shooting legend took on the terrorists who had sneaked into the air base on Saturday early morning.
Fateh was a well known name in big bore shooting and won medals in the mid-1990s, he was a senior member of the Indian shooting team.
Fateh had made the country proud by clinching gold and silver medals in the 300m big bore rifle events during the 1st Commonwealth Shooting Championship held in New Delhi in 1995.
He retired as a Subedar Major from the Dogra regiment in 2009 and joined the Defence Service Corps (DSC) and was initially posted at the Army War College in Mhow. He was posted to Pathankot two years ago. The DSC is a specialised unit that provides security at defence ministry sites.
Fateh, who was honoured by then Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, is survived by his wife Madhu Bala and sons Gurdeep Singh Deepu and Nitin Thakur. Deepu is currently serving in the 15 Dogra regiment.
Fateh Singh was one of the senior shooters when I started shooting in the 1990s. He won medals at the international level regularly. 1995 was my debut year in shooting when he won the medals in the Commonwealth Shooting Championship in Delhi and I remember meeting him at that time. It a sad moment for the shooting fraternity”, said Olympian shooter Suma Shirur.
Fateh known to be a thorough gentlemen was an inspiration to many shooters at the Army Marksmanship Unit where he use to train as a part of the Army shooting team.
The villagers rushed to the houses of the martyrs as soon as the reports of their supreme sacrifice poured in and expressed solidarity with the bereaved families.
#PathankotAttack Deepest Regards for Ace shooter Fateh Singh- Glory for India during his Lifetime & Pride in death https://t.co/NHDW0s9myw
— Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) January 3, 2016