At the ongoing ISSF World Championship Rifle/Pistol in Cairo, Egypt. Indian shooters have enjoyed a tremendous campaign. It has been a spectacular event for India considering the medals in Olympic disciplines, and it marks one of the best performances in recent memory. The Indian shooting team – a blend of veterans and juniors – has delivered an exceptional campaign. Till now, India have won 3 Gold, 5 Silver and 3 Bronzes medals.
Pistol Prodigies and Historic Feats
The undeniable highlight of the Indian campaign was definitely the dominant performance of Samrat Rana, who won gold in the men’s 10m pistol event and made history as the first Indian pistol shooter to win a senior individual World Championship title in an Olympic discipline.
The 20-year-old gave an impressive performance in the tightly contested final and outgunned the most consistent pistol shooter of the season, China’s Hu Kai, who had swept all the World Cup medals this year. This victory was a nail-biter with Rana outgunning his Chinese opponent by a tiny margin with a heroic effort on the final shot of the competition.
Adding to the glory, Varun Tomar added a bronze medal in the same event making it a 1-3 finish. Also, Rana, alongside Tomar and Sharvan Kumar, secured the team gold medal.
In the 10m air pistol mixed-team event, the pair of Samrat Rana and Esha Singh clinched an impressive silver. This marked Esha’s second medal in the discipline; she won a silver in the previous edition with Shiva Narwal.
Anish Bhanwala also added a historic silver to the tally in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol, an event in which Indians hadn’t enjoyed much success in previous editions. The Indian prevailed in four shoot-offs in the tightly contested final. Bhanwala became the first Indian to clinch a medal in this discipline and the first since Vijay Kumar’s historic silver at the London Olympics to win a medal on any global stage.
Rifle Excellence and Near Misses
In the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar not only scripted history by clinching India’s first-ever 50m 3P medal but also equalled the world record in qualification, scoring an impressive 597. The two-time Olympian looked poised for a higher finish and a chance to win gold, as he led by 0.1 against China’s reigning Olympic champion Liu Yukun. However, he fumbled on the last shot of the competition, scoring a poor 9.8 compared to Yukun’s 10.1.
Another near-miss in an Olympic discipline came in the women’s 10m air rifle. The two-time Olympian and Asian Champion Elavenil Valarivan produced an impressive performance under pressure. She had a chance to outgun South Korea’s young sensation and reigning Olympic Champion Ban Hyojin to win gold and was leading till the 18th shot before a 9.8 in the 19th attempt saw her slip to third position.
Future Outlook
Outside of the Olympics, the World Championships are the pinnacle of any sport, and winning medals in Olympic disciplines at the Shooting Worlds is always a special feeling. The medals from experienced shooters like Elavenil, Bhanwala, and Tomar give India hope as they have faced heartbreaks on the global stage earlier. These medals will be boost confidence, while youngsters like Rana, who enjoyed his maiden World Championship campaign and emerged victorious, offer hope for upcoming major events in the Olympic cycle.
India have won four medals in Olympic events, which is the highest till now. These stellar results are rightly timed as the shooters focus their attention on the upcoming World Cup finals in December.
The failure of Indian shooters in the women’s pistol and women’s 50m 3P individual events is a worry. Two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker and Sift Kaur Samra, one of India’s brightest hopes, failed to make it to the podium. Suruchi Phogat, one of India’s rising prodigies who was considered a sure shot medallist in pistol shooting, also missed out on the finals.
India is currently placed second with 11 medals, only behind China. With a few medal events left in the non-Olympic categories and juniors, the Indian contingent is poised to finish with a record-breaking medal haul.
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