Indian shooting has produced icons, Olympians, revolutionaries and now, a new world champion. In Cairo, on a tense afternoon at the ISSF World Championships, Samrat Rana delivered one of the most significant individual performances in India’s shooting history.
With nerves of steel and an unshakeable rhythm, the 22-year-old became India’s first-ever Men’s 10m Air Pistol World Champion, stunning the global field and breaking China’s season-long domination of the event. It was a day when the margins of shooting were exposed in both directions. While heartbreak unfolded for India in the women’s 10m air pistol final, the men’s event became the stage for a breakthrough of historic proportions. And at the centre of it all stood Samrat Rana calm, unflinching, and seizing a moment generations of Indian shooters had chased.
The Context: Hu Kai’s Invincibility and India’s Rising Wave
Entering Cairo, the narrative in men’s 10m air pistol was straightforward: Hu Kai of China was unstoppable. He had swept all four ISSF World Cup stages held earlier in the year:
- Buenos Aires – Gold
- Lima – Gold
- Munich – Gold
- Ningbo – Gold
No other shooter had shown the same consistency or command. On paper, Hu Kai was the overwhelming favourite for the World Championship title. In fact, analysts globally predicted that the only real contest would be for silver and bronze. But India had been quietly building toward a breakthrough.
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Samrat Rana, Varun Tomar, and Sharvan Kumar had consistently produced high-qualification scores throughout the season. And in Cairo, their intent was evident from the moment qualifications began.
Qualification: The First Signal That Something Special Was Coming
Samrat Rana and Varun Tomar delivered matching 586s in qualification an elite score at the World Championship level and good enough for India to achieve something unprecedented:
A 1–2 finish in qualifications
The first time an Indian duo topped a global 10m air pistol qualification
Sharvan Kumar adding a 582 to contribute to India’s TEAM GOLD
It was here that India sent its first message: this was not going to be a routine final dominated by the Chinese. Samrat entered the final confident, composed, and tracking his process something that would prove decisive in the highest-pressure stages.
The Final: Where Samrat Held His Nerve and Made History
At the start of the final, shooters traded high 10s, with Hu Kai establishing his familiar rhythm. But Samrat was matching him shot for shot, refusing to concede psychological ground. The moment the final shifted came around the middle elimination series. While Hu Kai wavered slightly, Samrat tightened up, delivering a string of 10.3+, 10.4+ and 10.6-type shots that allowed him to leapfrog into the lead.
The pressure was immense. Finals at the World Championships are ruthless every two shots, someone is eliminated. Tenths of a point define careers. But Samrat’s body language was different. Where others visibly felt the heat, he seemed insulated by process. Calm follow-through, slow trigger squeeze, measured breathing. No unnecessary adjustments. No deviation.
As Hu Kai misfired with an uncharacteristic low 10s, the gap widened just enough for Samrat to tighten his grip on the match. With each elimination round, his stability stood in contrast to the shifting scores around him. When the final three shooters were left Samrat, Hu Kai, Varun India had two shooters in medal positions at a World Championship final for the first time ever.
With a soaring 10.6, Samrat broke clear of the Chinese champion. The gold was now within touching distance. Minutes later, with one last controlled shot, Samrat Rana confirmed India’s first individual world title in Men’s 10m Air Pistol. Nothing about it was accidental. Everything about it was earned.
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Samrat’s gold is not just another medal. It sits on a different plane entirely.
India’s FIRST EVER individual world title in Men’s 10m Air Pistol This is unprecedented. India has been strong in women’s pistol for years. But the men’s 10m air pistol category, globally one of the most competitive, has always been dominated by China, Korea, Germany, and Iran.
Samrat has shifted that balance. He defeated an unbeatable shooter Hu Kai had won every World Cup stage in 2025. He was expected to complete the season sweep with the world title. Samrat stopped him. This alone places the performance in the category of iconic Indian shooting moments. India achieved Double Podium Varun Tomar claimed bronze, reinforcing India’s depth and rising strength in the event.
India took Team Gold (Samrat, Varun, Sharvan) The collective performance signals not a moment, but a movement. A defining psychological breakthrough The world now knows India can topple China in pistol shooting something that historically has required near-perfection.
Contrast with the Women’s Final: The Cruelty of Margins
On the same day, the women’s 10m air pistol final showed shooting’s harshest realities.
- Manu Bhaker, who briefly led the world championship final, shot an 8.8 and crashed to 7th.
- Esha Singh, steady and fighting throughout, shot an 8.4 and was eliminated in 6th.
Both shots were aberrations, tiny mis-timings that ended medal hopes instantly. Yet Manu, Esha, and Suruchi won silver in the team event, ensuring India did not leave empty-handed from the women’s category. Their tough finals stood in stark contrast to Samrat’s ice-cold composure.
Samrat is not a loud personality. He is not a constant headline-maker. But insiders have long known that his temperament is world-class. His consistency in high-level domestic and international events has grown steadily. What stood out in Cairo was not just technique but temperament. Finals are won by shooters who can slow the moment down, not by those who chase it. Samrat looked like someone who had been preparing for this exact moment for years.
With this performance, Samrat Rana has elevated expectations for Indian pistol shooting. The gold is a milestone—but more importantly, it is a blueprint.
The sport of shooting will remember this day for the upset.
India will remember it for the arrival of a new star.
