Young Indian shooter makes history at World Championships

Samrat Rana, a 20 year-old boy from Haryana, was the first Indian pistol shooter of Olympic disciplines to achieve a gold medal in the men’s 10 meter air pistol event at the ISSF World Champs. Besides, he was also one of the contributors in winning the team gold for India in the same event. Thus, his triumph is a great leap for Indian shooting sports. In the men’s 50 m rifle three-positions event, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, the Indian Olympian, got the silver medal, thus increasing India’s medal count and its global ranking in the championships. The success is being noticed when Indian shooters are getting regular podium finishes, indicating a richer talent pool and improved systems of training. Rana, being only 20 years old, under the pressure of a world championship, is being compared with highly experienced shooters and his training has been already talked about by the coaches. For the Olympic hopes of India, the results have given the much-needed push prior to the next qualifiers. The double podium (gold + silver) for shooters from India in the same category also has a symbolic meaning – it shows that India is not only competing but is among the top in the pistol and rifle disciplines now.