Samrat Rana, a 20-year-old shooter from Karnal, Haryana, made history at the ISSF World Championships in Cairo by becoming India’s first world champion in an Olympic pistol event. His incredible win came in the men’s 10m air pistol competition on Monday, where he also helped India win the team gold medal.

Rana showed great focus and calmness in a tense final round. He scored 243.7 points, narrowly beating China’s Hu Kai, who finished with 243.3 points. “I still can’t believe it,” said Rana after his victory. “Cairo is a special place for me. I won two medals here at the Junior World Championships in 2022. I just kept focusing on my technique with every shot.”

The men’s final was very close, with the lead changing several times between Rana, Hu Kai, and another Indian shooter, Varun Tomar. In the end, Rana held his nerve and won the gold, while Varun Tomar took the bronze medal with a score of 221.7. This was a historic moment, the first time two Indian shooters stood together on the World Championships podium in the same event.

India’s team gold came from the combined efforts of Rana (586), Tomar (586), and Shravan Kumar (582), giving a total of 1754 points. Italy finished second, and Germany came third. Shravan also placed 12th individually, showing India’s strong performance in pistol shooting.

For Rana, this gold medal was even more special because he had faced disappointment earlier this year when he didn’t qualify for the ISSF World Cup Final. “I just kept reminding myself to stay calm and trust my process. It feels unreal to see it all come together,” he said. Rana has been training under his father’s guidance since 2018. Over the years, he has shown steady progress, winning the World University gold last year. This latest win has made him one of India’s top hopes for the Olympics.

Meanwhile, Varun Tomar’s bronze brought more joy back home. His father, Vishesh Tomar, a teacher from Benoli village in Baghpat, said he was proud of his son’s achievement. He mentioned that Varun is the cousin of Saurabh Chaudhary, another star Indian shooter, and that both trained under the same coach in their village. Varun, who serves as a Naib Subedar in the Indian Army, now trains at the National Centre of Excellence at the Karni Singh Ranges in Delhi.

In the women’s 10m air pistol event, Manu Bhaker and Esha Singh both reached the finals but missed the podium. Manu finished seventh after a low 8.8 shot, while Esha ended sixth. However, India won the team silver, with Esha (583), Manu (580), and world No. 1 Suruchi Inder Singh (577) scoring a total of 1740 points. With Rana’s gold, India moved up to third place in the overall medal tally, behind China, which leads with six gold medals.