Suruchi, Samrat light up dazzling year for Indian shooting

New Delhi, Dec 20 (PTI) Suruchi Singh, Samrat Rana and Simranpreet Kaur Brar were among the biggest success stories of Indian shooting in a year that was liberally sprinkled with medals of all hues and witnessed the coming of age of a bunch of youngsters.

Over the years, shooting sport has emerged as one of the highest medal grossers for India, and a growing popularity in small towns has fuelled an unending supply of talent driven by the desire to succeed on the biggest of stages.

It all started in Buenos Aires where India won four gold, two silver and as many bronze medals with teenager Suruchi securing her first of many World Cup top-podium finishes this season and giving a peek into her precocious talent.

By the time the season was over, the Jhajjar girl had amassed an amazing four World Cup gold, and a top-podium finish in the season-ending elite World Cup Final competition in Doha.

Little-known Karnal boy Samrat Rana, just 20 years old, took giant strides in men's air pistol while beating some of the best in the business to become world champion in Cairo - a first for the country.

There were multiple success stories in between with the likes of air rifle shooter Rudrankksh Patil, 25m rapid fire exponent Anish Bhanwala, air pistol marksman Varun Tomar and young 25m pistol shooter Simranpreet Kaur Brar cornering glory at world cups, world championships, Asian Championships, and the World Cup Final to challenge powerhouse China for supremacy.

But none quite matched the success achieved by Suruchi and Samrat in a breakthrough year.

The rise of Suruchi =============== The daughter of a Havildar, Suruchi has emerged as a potential medal winner at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The teenager's exploits this year points to the giant strides she has taken since she emerged on the national scene in 2022, after which she won seven medals at the National championships in 2024.

The plethora of medals this year has sent Suruchi soaring to the No.1 spot in ISSF rankings. With the 2028 LA Games qualification cycle scheduled to commence next year, the 19-year-old would be among the frontrunners to secure an early Olympic quota for the country.

Samrat the new air pistol king ===================== The year's other biggest achiever undoubtedly was Samrat, who blew away the opponents in Cairo to emerge world champion in November.

Coached by his father in a basic shooting range in their backyard, Samrat burst on the international stage when he became junior world champion in Cairo in 2022.

He returned to the same range three years later to take the senior gold, one that put him in an elite list that features the likes of Abhinav Bindra, Manavjit Sandhu and Rudrankksh Patil.

His success is the biggest and best example of shooting making deep inroads into the country's small towns and hinterlands. Also not to forget Varun Tomar, the world championships bronze medallist in air pistol hailing from Baghpat district in Uttar Pradesh and whose father is a primary-school teacher. Simranpreet's golden run =================== The 25m pistol shooter from Faridkot, Simranpreet Kaur's gold at the World Cup Final (WCF) in Doha stood out for the mental fortitude she displayed on the range.

Competing in her maiden WCF, the 21-year-old showed no nerves on way to breaking the junior world record and ending India's campaign in the elite event with a gold.

India achieved its best-ever performance in the WCF, finishing with two gold, three silver and a bronze.

Anish Bhanwala comes of age ===================== Anish Bhanwala finally seemed to have cracked the puzzle of winning medals on the big stage in his favourite event, the 25m rapid-fire pistol.

As a teenager he showed tremendous potential but could not translate his talent into medals.

However, in a breakthrough 2025 season, the youngest Indian to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2018, emerged as one of the best in the business by winning the World Championships silver in Cairo.

Less than a month later, he again finished second in the World Cup Final in Doha.

Veteran trap shooter Zorawar Singh tasted success after more than three decades of toil by clinching a bronze at the Worlds in Athens, an achievement that brought cheers to the followers of a sport that has had few successes over the years.

Zorawar, 48, became only the third trap marksman from India after the legendary Karni Singh and former world champion Manavjit Singh to win a medal in a competition, which is only next to the Olympics for shooters.

Manu Bhaker overshadowed ===================== The relentless charge of the young Indian brigade saw ace pistol exponent and double Olympic bronze medallist Manu Bhaker being overshadowed.

The 23-year-old star shooter's best performance was an individual air pistol silver in a World Cup, as she was outperformed by the likes of Suruchi, Simranpreet, and 2023 junior world champion Sainyam. PTI AM AM AH AH