Samrat Rana, India’s new pistol prodigy, has no airs about what he has achieved at the ISSF World Championship in the last one week. Having become a world champion in the 10-metre air pistol, then winning a gold medal in the team event with Varun Tomar and Shravan Kumar, and a silver with Esha Singh in the mixed competition, Samrat is truly the ruler.

Keeping it cool

A soft-spoken and down to Earth Samrat told mid-day from Egypt’s capital city, Cairo, on Thursday that he was only looking to focus on his deep breathing and not thinking about his scores. Also, to shoot three matches straight isn’t easy, but he puts it down to his technique and preparation. “Cairo has been a happy hunting ground for me. The energy and intensity inside the arena here is really to my liking. Three years ago, I won a medal in the junior world meet here. This time too I enjoyed the ambience. I have spent hours in training from a very young age. I do a lot of deep breathing and that helps. If I have to thank anyone, it will be my parents first,” he added.