India's pistol coach gets 'house demolition' notice after guiding Manu, Sarabjot to Olympic medals

Jung, who was nicknamed ’goldfinger’ at the peak of his prowess after fetching an astonishing seven gold, five silver and two bronze medals in the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games

Samaresh Jung, India's national pistol coach got a shocking news after arriving in the country from the Paris Olympics that authorities have given orders for demolition of his house in the national capital. He said that he has just 48 hours to vacate his home as the authorities have termed it as an ”illegal construction”.

”The L&DO (Land and Development Office) served us a notice only yesterday. In fact, I came to know about it one hour after reaching home from Paris,” he revealed. Pistol shooters have contributed two of India’s three medals in the ongoing Paris Games with Manu Bhaker winning the individual 10m air pistol bronze before combining with Sarabjot Singh to claim the mixed team third position. Jung’s house is in the Civil Lines area and he said 200 families have been ordered to leave within two days. The Delhi High Court will hear the matter on Monday ”I am not above law and I will vacate if this is what the law demands.

But two days notice is not the way. At least give us a couple of months to move out,” he said. ”Is it an emergency or war situation that we have to vacate in a day?” he asked. The 54-year-old said he does not have another house in Delhi. ”Now, I have nowhere to go. I have a huge library of more than 1000 books and my brother has gone house hunting and we are trying to pack everything,” he said.

VIDEO | "You want to conduct a demolition drive, but it should be conducted in a proper way and people should be given time. How can a person vacate his/ her house in just one day?" says Samaresh Jung, India's National Pistol coach at Paris Olympics 2024, one of those who… pic.twitter.com/QVMjcDoJ8m

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 1, 2024

Jung, who was nicknamed ’goldfinger’ at the peak of his prowess after fetching an astonishing seven gold, five silver and two bronze medals in the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games, said he needs at least two months to pack up and leave. ”This was a property we were staying on for the last 75 years. In 1978, the land and structure was leased out to a Mr Singh and we have been paying rent to him since then,” a hassled Jung told PTI.

*With Agency Inputs