India’s world champion 10m air pistol shooter Samrat Rana tells mid-day that the secret to his success is intense technical training, deep breathing, and the ability to ignore the scoreboard while pulling the trigger
Samrat Rana after winning the gold medal in the 10m air pistol event. Pic/ISSF Instagram
Samrat Rana, India’s new pistol prodigy, has no airs about what he has achieved at the ISSF World Championship in the last one week. Having become a world champion in the 10-metre air pistol, then winning a gold medal in the team event with Varun Tomar and Shravan Kumar, and a silver with Esha Singh in the mixed competition, Samrat is truly the ruler.
Keeping it cool
A soft-spoken and down to Earth Samrat told mid-day from Egypt’s capital city, Cairo, on Thursday that he was only looking to focus on his deep breathing and not thinking about his scores. Also, to shoot three matches straight isn’t easy, but he puts it down to his technique and preparation. “Cairo has been a happy hunting ground for me. The energy and intensity inside the arena here is really to my liking. Three years ago, I won a medal in the junior world meet here. This time too I enjoyed the ambience. I have spent hours in training from a very young age. I do a lot of deep breathing and that helps. If I have to thank anyone, it will be my parents first,” he added.
Rana was introduced to shooting by his father Ashok. “I was very young when my father encouraged me to take up shooting. We did not have a great range or the best of equipment then. Papa had learnt shooting himself by watching others, but to me, he has been a fine coach. Till a few years back, we were living in a rented place where papa set up a small shooting lane. The house we live in at Karnal, Haryana today has a ground floor for my training arena,” said Samrat, going on to recall his early days in the sport when the wall-to-wall distance was exactly 10 metres at his rented residence.
Home-schooled shooter
“That’s how my journey began, shooting in a hall, which was a narrow verandah in a rented house, and where the lighting was average. Papa taught me the importance of technique and I focused hard on the targets. Even now, I have won these three medals because of my technique. I never looked at the scores. For me, to be calm and fire is the goal,” said Rana.
The Rana family has invested in equipment themselves, setting up a single shooting lane at their new residence in Karnal. “We were able to add more lanes. The electronic equipment that I have at home is not imported, but that works for me,” said Samrat.
Interestingly, at 20, Rana does some coaching too. “I’m pursuing my third year BA course. I also coach around 30 kids in Karnal, where I have an academy. The kids are very hardworking,” he revealed.
So is success scary? “Not at all. The more competitions I shoot, the better I will get. We have a lot of trials in India and each competition is important. To be in the senior team for the first time alongside all the senior shooters has been a great experience. ‘Mahaul hee alag hai [it’s a different atmosphere],” said Rana, also expressing his gratitude to Team India’s high performance director Pierre Beauchamp.
The youngster has some big dreams going forward. “I want to do well at the Asian Games next year [in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan] and also hope to qualify for the 2028 Olympics [in Los Angeles, USA],” concluded Rana.
03
No. of medals won by Samrat Rana at the ISSF World C’ship; Two golds and one silver
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