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.
Rudrankksh Patil won the gold in the 10m air rifle
This uninspired structure is located in a remote, crowded, and dusty area of Thane, a city that takes pride in its rich cultural heritage and tranquil lakes but is entirely devoid of any athletic activity. Patil’s path that propelled him to the top of the world began here, at a manual target range with poor lighting in a school’s basement.
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.”
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.
At least Patil had a reference now. He went to the range reluctantly, but a month later he stopped going. However, at his mother’s request, he went back. The coach told my mother I might be good over the phone, says Patil. “I played a lot of sports, but this was the first time a coach ever told me I could be good at something,” the athlete stated.
He returned to the range after hearing those encouraging remarks. But a naive Patil was still bumbling his way through — he wouldn’t learn the fundamentals of using a gun, didn’t know how to set lanes up, and, this one time, when he reached a final, he’d just replicate what a pal standing beside him did.