SPORTS

Samrat Rana Clinches Historic Gold in Men’s 10m Air Pistol at ISSF World Championships

• 11 Nov 2025

Samrat Rana scripted history on Monday by winning the men’s 10-meter air pistol gold at the ISSF World Championships in Cairo, becoming the first Indian to claim an individual air pistol world title.

Rana edged out China’s Hu Kai by a razor-thin margin of 0.4 points, finishing with a score of 243.7. His compatriot Varun Tomar secured bronze, completing a remarkable double podium for India. Both Rana and Tomar had earlier topped the qualification round with 586 points each.

The 22-year-old also played a pivotal role in helping India win the men’s 10m air pistol team gold, alongside Varun Tomar and Sharvan Kumar. With this achievement, Rana became only the fifth Indian shooter to win a world title in an Olympic event, joining the elite list of Abhinav Bindra, Rudrankksh Patil, Tejaswini Sawant, and the mixed team duo of Shiva Narwal and Esha Singh.

Meanwhile, two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker narrowly missed out on an individual medal but contributed to India’s women’s team silver, alongside Esha Singh and Suruchi Singh.