Young India shooter Samrat Rana put on a brilliant display to win the men’s 10m air pistol gold at the ISSF World Championships. The 20-year-old from Karnal became the first Indian pistol shooter in an Olympic event to win a world championship. He also helped India secure the team gold in the same event.
With three golds, three silvers, and three bronzes, India jumped from fifth to third in the medal tally. China led with six golds, four silvers, and two bronzes.
Nail-biter final
In the individual final, Samrat scored an impressive 243.7, narrowly beating China’s Hu Kai, who settled for silver with 243.3. Another Indian, Varun Tomar from a small village in Baghpat and cousin of Olympian Saurabh Chaudhary, clinched bronze with 221.7. The lead kept changing among the three shooters throughout the nail-biting final, but Samrat held his nerve and performed with consistency.
"I am overjoyed with Varun's performance," Varun's father, Vishesh, a teacher in Benoli village of Bagjhpat, as quoted by PTI.
"I always told Varun to pursue his dreams and never told to pursue academics," said Vishesh, adding that his son took up shooting after watching the success of Saurabh.
"Saurabh is Varun's cousin and they have trained under the same coach in Benoli before Varun, a Naib Subedar in the Army, moved to Meerut under a new coach.
"Varun is now in National Centre of Excellence in 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," added his father.
Samrat previously clinched two golds at the same venue
Samrat had previously won two golds at the same venue during the 2022 World Championships in junior air pistol events. Coached by his father since 2018, he had been trying to make his mark at the senior level for the past year. Last year, he won the World University gold and narrowly missed qualifying for the ISSF World Cup final in Ningbo, China.
On Monday, Samrat topped the qualification round with a score of 586. Varun also scored 586 but finished second due to fewer inner 10s; Samrat had 27 compared to Varun’s 26.
The final was a close battle, with the lead shifting multiple times between Samrat, Varun, and Hu Kai. In the end, Samrat clinched the gold by just 0.4 points, with the 24th and final shot deciding the winner.