CHENNAI: The Olympics and World Championships are generally considered to be the Holy Grail events. Many athletes dedicate their lives in their bid to leave a mark but never succeed due to the size of the competition.
Not for young India shooter Samrat Rana, who gunned down gold medal at the senior World Championships in his first-ever appearance. He was challenged until the last shot. But the 20-year-old was laser-focussed throughout. Up against champions like Christian Reitz, a double Olympic medallist, the shooter from Haryana remained ice cool and stepped up when the situation demanded. The best was yet to come as she showed his steel to quell the challenge of Hu Kai, the nearest rival, and walk away as new world champion of men's 10m air pistol in Cairo, Egypt on Monday.
After a respectable start in the eight-man final, Samrat was in charge of the proceedings before a few lapses in the middle stages. That's when Varun Tomar, who eventually finished with a bronze, and Kai closed the gap. There was barely anything between the three towards the business end. Kai, for instance, hit an impressive 10.8 in the 19th shot to briefly take charge. One shot later, Samrat responded with a near-flawless 10.9 (magic number in shooting). But one shot later, Kai once again had his nose in front after a low shot from the Indian. That's when the Indian recalibrated before finishing with rounds of 10.9, 10.2, 10.6 — impressive given that Kai was hot on his heels until the end.
"It's very good. I still can't believe it. It was my first time participating in the senior World Championship and winning gold is like unbelievable," Samrat told ISSF channel during the post-match interview.
As Kai continued to test his will, Samrat said that he was just concentrating on his shooting. "I was just focussing on my technique and trying to repeat every single shot and follow the same process."
