Samrat Rana Becomes World Champion In 10m Air Pistol

Young Indian shooter Samrat Rana delivered a breathtaking display of marksmanship to clinch the men's 10m air pistol gold and make history at the prestigious ISSF World Championships in Cairo on Monday. The 20-year-old became the first Indian pistol shooter in an Olympic discipline to be crowned world champion and, in the process, also helped India secure the team gold in the event. With three gold, three silver, and as many bronze medals, India jumped from fifth to third in the medal standings, while China led the table with six gold, four silver, and two bronze.

Samrat, who hails from Karnal, shot an outstanding 243.7 in the final to fend off a strong challenge from China's Hu Kai, who took silver in a nerve-wracking medal round with a score of 243.3.

India's Varun Tomar, from a small village in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh and a cousin of Olympian pistol ace Saurabh Chaudhary, shot 221.7 to claim bronze in a high-intensity final that saw the lead change hands multiple times among the three shooters.

However, it was Samrat who stuck to the basics and never flinched, converting his junior-level success into senior triumph at the same venue where he had won two gold medals - junior air pistol team and junior mixed team - at the 2022 World Championships.

This also marked the first time two Indian shooters won medals in the same event at the World Championships.

Coached by his father since 2018, Samrat had been knocking on the doors of senior-level success for the past year. A student of DAV College, Karnal, he clinched the World University gold last year and narrowly missed qualifying for the ISSF World Cup final in Ningbo, China, by the slimmest of margins.

But on Monday, he left no room for doubt, showing his intent in the qualification round with an excellent 586, placing him at the top of the leaderboard.

Varun, too, was in the zone, matching Samrat's score but finishing second due to fewer inner 10s - Samrat had 27, while Varun had 26.

In the final, the Indian duo and China's Hu Kai - who had won gold at the ISSF World Cup in Ningbo - battled for decimals, with the lead changing hands multiple times before Samrat edged ahead by 0.4 in a contest where the 24th and final shot decided the gold medallist.

The third Indian in the fray, Shravan Kumar, shot 582 to finish 12th.

India clinched the team gold with the trio of Samrat (586), Varun (586), and Shravan (582) aggregating 1754. Italy were a distant second with 1746, while Germany (1740) took bronze.

"I am overjoyed with Varun's performance," said his father Vishesh, a teacher in Benoli village of Baghpat, speaking to PTI.

"I always told Varun to pursue his dreams and never forced him to focus on academics," added Vishesh, noting that his son took up shooting after being inspired by Saurabh.

"Saurabh is Varun's cousin, and they trained under the same coach in Benoli before Varun, now a Naib Subedar in the Army, moved to Meerut under a new coach.

"Varun is now at the National Centre of Excellence at Karni Singh Ranges, Delhi, and I feel all the hard work he has put in over the years has paid off. I remember his coach telling me that Varun should take some rest, but he became a 'workaholic' when it came to shooting," he added.

Meanwhile, double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker and multiple Asian Games medalist Esha Singh suffered a meltdown in the women's 10m air pistol final, as India's top two shooters failed to win a medal.

Manu, who won bronze in the 10m air pistol individual and mixed team events at the Paris Olympics, was in control during the final before a poor 8.8 on her 14th shot saw her tumble from the top spot to seventh, finishing with a score of 139.5.

Esha, who recently won World Cup gold in Ningbo, couldn't convert her strong run into a medal. Inconsistencies and nerves got the better of her on the big stage, as she faltered with an 8.4 on her 14th shot after a superb 10.7, finishing sixth in the eight-shooter final.

India earned a small consolation by winning team silver, with Esha (583), Manu (580), and world No. 1 Suruchi Inder Singh (577) aggregating 1740 for second place.

Esha and Manu had entered the final on the back of strong qualification performances. Esha, who became the youngest air pistol national champion at 13 and represented India in the women's 25m pistol at the Paris Olympics, shot brilliantly to finish fourth in qualification with 583, including a rare perfect 100 in the third series.

Manu shot 580 to finish sixth and make the final. She briefly took the lead with a 10.7 on her 13th shot, but an 8.8 on the next led to her elimination.

The third Indian, 19-year-old Suruchi - who has won four World Cup golds this year to rise to No. 1 - shot a respectable 577, but in a high-class field, it was only enough for 14th place among 99 shooters