news details |
|
|
| Rudrankksh Patil's success story only bright spot in otherwise sedate year | | |  agencies
NEW DELHI, Dec 22: Rifle shooter Rudrankksh Patil's success story has been the only standout event in an otherwise sedate year for marksmen, where they even missed the high of the Commonwealth Games after the sport was given a short shrift by the Birmingham organisers
The 10m air rifle exponent from Maharashtra conquered the field in Cairo to emerge world champion with the added bonus of an Olympic quota place, and has now emerged as a hot contender to emulate 2008 Beijing Olympics champion Abhinav Bindra's feat in 2024 Paris Games.
The bespectacled Bindra and double-trap marksman Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore -- silver medallist at the 2004 Athens Games -- have been icons when it comes to setting the standards for youngsters to follow.
And youngsters like Rudrankksh needn't look beyond these two big names for inspiration as they dream big and practice maniacally to achieve those goals.
In fact, inspired by the showing of the two legends, there has been a tsunami of young, aspiring and ambitious shooters making a beeline to the hundreds of private ranges that have mushroomed across the country to cater to the thousands taking up the sport in the country.
Such has been the zeal to excel in shooting sport since the two achievements that every single domestic or international competition throws up a couple of new faces, coming from varied backgrounds and driven by the hunger to win gold at the Olympics.
The year 2022 was no different with the likes of teenage 10m air rifle marksman Rudrankksh, Bhowneesh Mendiratta (trap) and Swapnil Kusale (50m rifle three-positions) securing quota places for the country for the Paris Games.
A feeling of dismay had pervaded the scene after a 15-strong contingent returned empty-handed from the Tokyo Olympics.
Passionate fans of the sport were seeking answers from the national shooting body as to what went wrong in Tokyo.
Post the Tokyo debacle, a few fresh faces were needed to lift the gloom. And that came in the form of Rudrankksh.
The Thane marksman, who turned 19 a few days back, has come as a breath of fresh air, quite like Bindra. He was inspired by Bindra's gold in Beijing and seems to be in the same mould as the illustrious Punjab shooter -- committed, ambitious and hungry for the ultimate prize.
Son of an IPS officer, Rudrankksh has virtually cut his interaction with the world outside and is concentrating with the single-minded approach of winning the Olympic gold.
The Maharashtra lad was consistently scoring big in domestic events, though winning gold at the World Championships in Cairo in October looked far fetched for a teenager.
However, Rudrankksh's family never had any doubt about his ability to withstand pressure. He defeated Italy's Danilo Dennis Sollazzo for gold to become only the second Indian to achieve the feat in air rifle after Bindra.
He also became only the sixth Indian world champion shooter after Bindra, Tejaswini Sawant, Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Om Prakash Mitherwal and Ankur Mittal.
The elite President's Cup, where he again defeated Sollazzo for gold, was the icing on the cake as he also emerged the world No.1 in the category, displacing the Italian.
"Rudrankksh goes into a trance when he is shooting, oblivious to the world outside," his father had told PTI.
"He is inspired by Abhinav Bindra's feat and his only goal is glory at the Olympics." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
