Samrat Rana made history by winning India’s first gold medal in an Olympic pistol event at the ISSF World Championships in Cairo. The 20-year-old shooter from Karnal delivered a spectacular performance in the men’s 10m air pistol final, scoring 243.7 to beat China’s Hu Kai by 0.4 margin.
Rana was overwhelmed by his success and claimed he couldn’t believe what he had achieved. He recalled his previous achievement at the 2022 Junior World Championships in Cairo, where he won two medals. His familiarity with the site, along with a calm focus on technique, allowed him to remain composed during the tense final moments.
Rana, who has been trained by his father since 2018, had great poise as he, Hu Kai, and India’s Varun Tomar switched leads multiple times. Tomar, 21, displayed equal brilliance, earning bronze with a score of 221.7. His podium finish, together with Rana’s, marked the first time two Indian pistol shooters won medals at the same World Championship.
Earlier in the qualification round, Rana led with 586 points, closely followed by Tomar. Both joined Shravan Kumar to win the team gold with a combined score of 1754.
