Rudrankksh Patil Wins World Championship Gold In 10m Air Rifle

Indian shooter Rudrankksh Patil won a gold medal for 10-meter air rifle in ISSF World Championship. He has also secured his Olympic quota for Paris 2024.

Rudrankksh Patil had become tired of taking public transportation while coolly carrying a rifle case while passing it off as a guitar to visit shooting ranges in Mumbai’s central and western suburbs. 

As a result, he made the decision that it was time to return to school, going back to the location where he had first learned about the sport when he was 13 years old.

In the qualification round on Friday, Patil, competing in his first World Championship, achieved an amazing total of 633.9. 

Then, after Abhinav Bindra, he became the second Indian in rifle to win the gold medal. And in the process, a quota for the Paris Olympics was secured. In a flash, Patil says, “At 18 years.”

This uninspired structure is located in a remote, congested, and dusty area of Thane, a city that takes pride in its rich cultural heritage and tranquil lakes but is completely devoid of any sporting activity. 

Patil’s path that propelled him to the top of the world began here, at a manual target range with dim lighting in a school’s basement.

Teenage wonders have appeared in plenty of Indian movies. The list includes Manu Bhaker, Divyansh Panwar, and Saurabh Chaudhary. 

The majority of them may be at a turning point in their careers, but Patil has proven he is the genuine deal, according to instructors. 

Patil was motivated by India’s youthful army of shooters and learned by watching them break records and win medals.

National rifle coach Joydeep Karmakar claims that seeing a shooter’s performance at a World Championship is one approach to assess their shooting ability. 

Rudrankksh shot a qualifying total that no Indian before him had ever achieved. 

His strong mentality is demonstrated by his ability to come from behind to win the gold in the final, and the quota is the cherry on top. It’s the finest shot an Indian has made recently.

Not bad for someone who left the sport after just one month of participation. Rudrankksh said, “I was bored. “Standing in odd positions for two hours… very dull!” Patil chuckles. It happened in 2015. When Patil was thirteen, he had gone to the opening of a shooting range at a school with his father Balasaheb, a police officer stationed in Thane at the time.

Snehal Kadam, the coach, persuaded Patil Senior to encourage his son, who was more enthusiastic about football, to try shooting. Nothing made sense to the young youngster in his mind. 

“At first, I assumed they meant one of those military-style activities where you lie on the ground and fire at targets; later, I assumed it would be similar to paintball. He tells The Indian Express from Cairo, “I didn’t know shooting was a sport.