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Rahi Sarnobat has been one of India's most consistent shooters in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympics. In the Olympic cycle, where India saw a handful of talented young shooters outshining their experienced counter-parts, Rahi held her fort.
In fact, she was one of the most in form shooters coming to Tokyo among all the Indian shooters who seemed to have lost their form just before the mega-event.
Rahi, a 30-year-old markwoman from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, specializes in the women's 25-meter pistol event. Historically, this event has not been a strong suit among Indian female shooters.
However, Rahi scaled the uncharted territory in this event for an Indian shooter when she became the 1st markswoman to qualify for the women's 25-meter pistol event at the Olympics. She achieved this feat when she won a bronze medal at the 2011 ISSF World Cup Fort Benning (USA) stage.
An early exit at the 2012 Olympics for Rahi Sarnobat
Rahi looked in good form in the lead up to the London games. She consistently scored in the range of 580 and above (out of a possible 600) at various World Cup stages just before the Olympics.
At the Olympics, Rahi started off pretty well with a score of 291/300 in the precision stage of the 25-meter pistol event. However, she backed it up with a rather poor 288/300 in the rapid stage.
Rahi finished the qualification stage with a total of 579 points. The qualification cut-off for the finals of that event was 583. She underperformed on the biggest stage of her life. Rahi, who was just 21 at the time, took this failure in her stride as she focussed for the Rio Olympics.
Back to form after missing out in 2012 Olympics
Rahi Sarnobat came back strong for the 2013 season. She won a brilliant gold medal at the Changwon stage of the ISSF World Cup in her pet event. She was looking to have gotten better at handling pressure situations at major events.
At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, she upgraded her silver medal from Delhi to a glittering gold in the individual event. She led the Indian women's 25-meter pistol team to a bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Games with a score of 1729/1800.
Slowly but surely, Rahi regained her best form. She was looking to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics by giving her best at the 2015 ISSF World Cup events. However, destiny had other plans for her.
A dream shttering accident
As Rahi was channeling her focus in qualifying for the Rio games, she met with a career threatening injury caused by an accident. The injury caused some serious damage to her elbow as her preparations hit a major roadblock.
Although she tried her best to have a shot at the qualifications, her injury did not help her cause. She was way off target from the bull's eye for the majority of 2015. She gave it her all to qualify for the Rio Olympics despite her injury but sadly her monumental efforts were not good enough.
The after effects of missing out on qualifying for the 2016 Olympics and her injury led her to think about retiring from competitive shooting. However, after her injury was fully healed, the national association showed faith in her as they picked her back in the national squad.
A comeback to savour
A recall into the national team was just the kind of confidence booster that Rahi needed to get her career back on track. She made a very strong comeback in 2018 with a gold medal winning performance at the Asian Games. Her performance in the final was absolutely reminiscent of a true warrior.
Rahi kept her nerves against Yangpaiboon of Thailand as they tied after 10 series of 5 shots at 34 hits. Rahi won the gold medal after both tied yet again after 2 tie-breaks. She not only showed nerves of steel but also the maturity of a seasoned athlete in a nerve wrecking final.
It has been an uphill ride for Rahi since then. She has been getting better and better at the qualification rounds of her event. In 2019, she qualified for the Tokyo Olympics after winning a gold medal at the Munich stage of the ISSF World Cup.
In the last World Cup event before the Tokyo Games, the Osijek stage, she had an incredible qualification score of 591/600. In the finals, Rahi shot like a dream to win yet another World Cup gold medal.
Will Rahi Sarnobat be lucky the 3rd time?
Although Rahi has successfully overcome the demons of 2012 and 2016 to become a superstar of Indian shooting, she has to somehow overcome the bad mood of the camp caused by the under-performance of young Indian shooters in Tokyo.
However, one can expect her to have that necessary experience to tackle any untoward situation given the way she has risen up the ranks post her injury.
Rahi's bittersweet memories from the London Olympics will also come in handy for the markswoman when she takes to the range in Tokyo. Her knack of peaking at crucial tournaments combined with her maturity makes us believe that she has something very special in store for all the Indian fans at the Tokyo Olympics.
