In a historic moment, India’s Samrat Rana etched his name in the history books after he finished in first place in the World Championships in the 10m air pistol event. The 20-year-old went on to send shockwaves across the globe after he claimed India’s first gold medal in the 10m air pistol, beating Hu Kai.
It is worth noting that Hu Kai was one of the formidable opponents for Rana to face, being one of the dominant shooters of the year; notably, the World Championships was the first senior international final; however, topping the qualification rounds earlier managed to win the title after a close shave win.
Being incredibly dominant, Hu Kai was undefeated in 2025 across all four ISSF World Cup events, besides his title at the Asian Championships in Symkhen. Interestingly, Rana was ahead by just 0.6 points before the final shot, and with a brilliant 10.6 on his last try, the 20-year-old clinched the gold for India and scripted history. In the end, Rana’s total score was 243.7, and Hu fell short by just 0.4 points. Additionally, in more brilliant news for the country, Varun Tomar finished on the podium as well, finishing in third place with a total of 221.7 points.
Rana spoke after his win
After the historic win, Samrat Rana took centre stage and reflected on his win. He revealed that he cannot believe it and talked about how he was focusing on his technique throughout his performance.
“I still can’t believe it. I think it’s a happy hunting ground for me. I won two medals here in Cairo at the junior world championships in 2022. I like the ambience. I was just trying to focus on my technique in every shot towards the end,” Rana was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.
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