Shooter Rahi Sarnobat has grabbed eyeballs with her performance at the ongoing Asian Games. She scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a Asiad gold in the 25m pistol event on 22 August. She achieved the feat when she shot a score of 34 in the final and tied with Thailand’s Naphaswan Yangpaiboon.
While all eyes were on 16-year-old shooter Manu Bhaker, who already had a Games record of 593 in the qualifying round, Sarnobat qualified as sixth best with a score of 580. But the 27-year-old showed nerves of steel by winning the fourth gold for India in the final round. This is Sarnobat's best win and the biggest medal of her career.
Sarnobat is now determined to break all records at the next Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
“This win was so important for me to open my mind. It has taken me to the time I was winning medals,” the shooter was quoted after victory in Palembang, Indonesia
Know more about the skilled shooter:
How she took up shooting
Sarnobat hails from Kolhapur, Maharashtra. Her motivation to pursue shooting came from 50m rifle prone world champion Tejaswini Sawant. She went on to win the 25m pistol event gold medal at the ISSF World Cup in 2013 in Changwon. Sarnobat is trained by coach Munkhbayar Dorjsuren, a six-time Olympian.
“There are things that come easily to me and being calm is one of them. I take a few deep breaths and I can control my heartbeat. For others, that is a practised skill. For me, it just comes naturally,” she told Firstpost
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Career Highlights
- Sarnobat is the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games gold medallist in Pune in the same event.
- She also won two gold medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India.
- The powerful shooter was also the first Indian woman to compete in the 25m pistol event at the 2012 Olympics. She had finished 19th.
- In 2014 Commonwealth Games at Glasgow, she won gold in women’s 25-metre pistol.
- In the same year, she won the Bronze medal in the 25-metre pistol team event at the 2014 Asian Games at Incheon.
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Awards pour in
Celebrating her achievement, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday announced a cash award of Rs 50 lakh for Rahi Sarnobat. “I am happy to announce that Maharashtra Government will give Rs 50 lakh to the gold medal winners, Rs 30 lakh to silver medal winners and Rs 20 lakh to bronze medal winners of AsianGames 2018 from Maharashtra,” CM Devendra Fadnavis tweeted.
More Power to You!
Feature Image Credit: The Indian Express
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