Shooting World Championship: Decoding the profile of Rudrankksh Patil
18-year-old Rudrannksh Patil on Friday became the first Indian world champion in the 10m air rifle since Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra in 2006. He beat Italy's Danilo Dennis Sollazzo 17-13 in the finale to garner a gold medal in the ISSF Shooting World Championships in Cairo, Egypt. The performance also garnered him a quota at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Here's more.
Rudrankksh aces the qualification
Notably, Rudrankksh shot a score of 633.9 to qualify in the Top 8, which is a World Championship record. He then shot 261.9 to conclude second to Dennis Sollazzo in the ranking round but ranking 0.1 ahead of third-placed Lihao Sheng. He was trailing the gold medal bout 4-10 before scripting a jaw-dropping comeback to steer home.
Rudrankksh etches his name in history
It is to note that Rudrankksh is only the sixth shooter to win a gold at the senior level. As per a report in The Times of India, he joins Bindra (10m air rifle, 2006), Manavjit Singh Sandhu (trap, 2006), Tejaswini Sawant (50m rifle prone, 2010), Om Prakash Mitharval (50m pistol, 2018), and Ankur Mittal (double trap, 2018).
Rudrankksh bested heavyweights in his quest for gold
What's striking is that Rudrankksh downed heavyweights en route to his gold medal. Coming to the ranking round, he bested the likes of former world champion and Tokyo bronze medallist Yang Haoran from China and 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Lihao Sheng. Meanwhile, Tokyo gold medallist William Shaner of the USA failed to breach the Top 8.
'Rudrankksh fights with himself'
"Rudrankksh doesn't fancy anything. But he fights with himself when he doesn't get good scores. He has been working really hard to go beyond 633 in the qualifications. I am sure he must be very happy today," said Ajit Patil, Rudrannksh's coach, who has produced three world champions including 50m rifle prone winner Sawant.
A look at Rudrannksh career achievements
Rudrannksh, who started shooting in 2015, tasted his first bout of success at the 2021 ISSF Jr World Championships, where he finished with a silver. He wound up with a gold at the ISSF Junior World Cup (2022), followed by a gold at the recently concluded National Games. Notably, he opened his senior medal tally with a gold at the World Championships.
Rudrankksh comes from a humble background
Rudrankksh hails from Thane, Maharashtra. He is the eldest child of Balasaheb Patil, SP Palghar. Meanwhile, his mother, Hemangini, is a regional transport officer in Vashi. With no facilities nearby his home, Rudrankksh went to a school run by the People's Education Society Trust in Thane. He got permission to use the range and installed an electronic target to start his training in 2018.
