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The 2018 Asian Games have thrown some unexpected surprises our way. From India winning their first-ever Sepak Takraw medal, to the Men's Kabaddi team losing their first match in years, the Asian Games have been full of ups and downs.
Another couple of surprises came our way during the Women's 25m Pistol event.
The first one was the elimination of Manu Bhaker. Bhaker had been superb during the qualifying process, setting a new qualifying Games Record in the process. Going into the final, the 16-year-old was the favourite to win the Gold medal. However, much to everybody's shock, the youngster finished sixth.
The second surprise that came our way was a good one. Bhaker's compatriot Rahi Sarnobat, who had also made it to the finals, shocked the crowd and won the Gold medal.
Although a lot of Indian fans are familiar with Bhaker, the same cannot be said for Rahi Sarnobat. Therefore, we present to you, ten things you should know about India's latest Gold medalist.
Here are 10 things you should know about shooter Rahi Sarnobat-
1. Sarnobat was born in the Maharashtrian city of Kolhapur in 1990.
2. She took up shooting in 2007 and began competing professionally just a year later.
3. The Indian shooter won her first Gold medal in the 2008 Pune Commonwealth Youth Games. Shooting was amongst the nine disciplines at the games, when they were hosted in Pune.
4. Sarnobat was inspired to take up the sport because of Tejaswini Sawant. The Indian shooter had won a Gold medal during the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and as a result, inspired a future star.
5. The Indian shooter has a lot of previous medals to name with the Commonwealth Games and the ISSF tournaments being her favourite hunting grounds. Sarnobat has so far won three Commonwealth Games medals (One Gold, one Silver in Delhi 2010; One Gold in Glasgow 2014), Two Asiad Medals (One Bronze in Incheon 2014; One Gold in Jakarta & Palembang 2018), and One ISSF World Cup medal (One Gold in South Korea 2013) to her name.
6. The Maharashtrian is also the first Indian woman to win a Pistol Gold medal at the World Cup.
7. Rahi Sarnobat is the first Indian shooter who had qualified for 25 metres sports pistol event in Olympics. However, during the games, she finished 19th in qualification and couldn't reach the final.
8. In 2015, the Kolhapur-born shooter was nominated for the Arjuna Award by National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).
9. Prior to the 2016 Rio Olympics, however, the Indian shooter suffered a heartbreaking injury, which kept her out of the sport for a long time. During this time she is also said to have gone into depression. However, Rahi made a strong comeback and proved her mettle at the Asian Games.
10. Coming to Sarnobat's most recent achievement, the Indian shooter became the first woman from the country to win an individual Gold medal in that sport. She did so by shooting beating her Thai opponent in their second shoot-off. In the process, Sarnobat also created a new Games Record.
The Indian shooter has been one of the very best India has produced but had been sidelined due to a long injury. Nevertheless, Sarnobat has made her much-awaited comeback with a Gold at the 2018 Asian Games.
